JK Wiki

Docker 🐳

Packages applications into isolated, portable "containers."

Solves: "It works on my machine" — Docker ensures identical runtime on any OS.

Image = Recipe (app + all dependencies)
Container = Running instance of that image

You've been using Docker when:

Running docker ps to list containers
Using docker cp to copy files
Installing MySQL and phpMyAdmin as Coolify services

Kubernetes ☸️ (K8s)

An orchestrator that manages thousands of Docker containers across many servers.

Analogy: If Docker containers are shipping crates, Kubernetes is the port authority managing thousands of crates across 100 ships.

Used by: Large companies (Netflix, Google) needing auto-scaling across 100+ servers.

❌ You are NOT using Kubernetes — it's overkill for individual/small-team projects.

Coolify 🔷

A self-hosted platform that manages Docker containers for you — essentially simplified Kubernetes for individuals.

Handles:

Building Docker images from GitHub code (via Nixpacks)
Starting/stopping/restarting containers
TLS certificates (Let's Encrypt + Traefik proxy)
Routing traffic from domains to containers
Environment variables, secrets, persistent storage

You're using Coolify for:

Deploying Next.js and PHP projects
Managing MySQL databases
Running phpMyAdmin, Uptime Kuma
Auto-deploying from GitHub on every push

The Full Stack

Browser 
  → Cloudflare (DNS + CDN + DDoS protection)
  → Hetzner Server (your VM in Germany)
  → Traefik (reverse proxy — routes traffic to right container)
  → Docker containers (managed by Coolify)
      ├── Next.js app
      ├── MySQL database
      ├── phpMyAdmin
      └── Uptime Kuma