Docker without tears: a 2026 developer setup
NEO Campus Editorial15 March 20266 min read
Docker has gotten significantly easier in the last two years. With dev containers and BuildKit, the local experience is finally on par with native.
Compose as a contract
A single docker-compose.yml that boots the whole stack is onboarding gold. New hires should be productive in an hour.
Dev containers
VS Code dev containers eliminate the it works on my machine class of bugs. Worth the one-time setup cost.
BuildKit and layer caching
Order your Dockerfile from least to most frequently changing. A 20-second build is a different working life from a five-minute one.
