What's New on DockHosting: New Platform, the dock CLI and dockhosting.cloud

The last two weeks were the biggest stretch in DockHosting's history: a new platform, a CLI, a new home for your apps, and a lot of work on the moments where a first deploy used to go wrong. Here's all of it in one place. The full list, kept up to date, lives in the changelog.

The new platform is live#

On 29 October, app.dockhosting.dev and api.dockhosting.dev moved to the new platform. Accounts, projects and support tickets from the old platform came along, and dashboard addresses from the old platform redirect to the right page instead of showing a 404.

Meet dock, our CLI#

You can now ship from your terminal without GitHub:

dock login        # sign in from your browser
dock deploy       # deploy the current folder
dock logs         # follow your app's logs
dock db sql       # run SQL on a managed database
dock update       # keep the CLI current

You can also manage environment variables from the CLI. Install it in one line from cli.dockhosting.dev, then follow our guide to deploying a Node.js app in one command.

Apps get their own domain: dockhosting.cloud#

New apps live at <name>.dockhosting.cloud, with HTTPS from the moment they're created. Existing apps moved there automatically on 4 November, or earlier with the Move now button.

• Old dockhosting.dev links keep working. Pages redirect to the same path.
• Webhooks are forwarded for 90 days.
• Custom domains don't change, and verifying or removing one no longer rebuilds your app. The route changes in seconds while your app keeps running.

First deploys that explain themselves#

A first deploy is where most people decide whether a platform is for them, so we rebuilt it.

• It never hangs. The onboarding deploy shows each step (queued, building, starting) and retries when the connection drops. If there's no progress for 3 minutes, it tells you so. You can leave the page: a bar, a notification and the tab title tell you when your app is live.
• App output. A new tab shows what your app prints while it starts. A wrong port, a missing variable, GitHub access, the database or the start command can all be fixed right there.
• Your code is read first. We check for the settings your app needs, such as credentials, and ask only for what it can't start without.
• Clearer crash messages. You see the failing line, including module paths and the invalid field for Python apps using pydantic.
• Slow starters get 5 minutes. Apps that take a while to listen, like Spring Boot on the Free plan, are no longer marked as failed too early.

Status pages instead of browser errors#

An address whose app is asleep, stopped or failing now shows a clear page instead of a browser error. You can turn the Waking up page off in Settings.

Free-plan apps now sleep after 1 hour without visits and wake on the next request. Hobby, Pro and Team apps stay always on.

Database storage per plan#

Each database gets its plan's storage, shown in MB or GB on the database page:

If a plan change lowers the limit below what a database uses, you get 7 days to make room. Also fixed: Create and link now names the engine, so you always get the database you picked. If you're connecting one for the first time, here's how DATABASE_URL works.

Prices in your currency#

Since 2 November, prices are lower in 42 countries. In India you pay in rupees (Hobby is ₹149 a month), and in Brazil in reais (R$12). In Indonesia, Egypt, Pakistan, Morocco, Nigeria, Kenya and 34 more countries, plans start at $2 a month. The dashboard shows your country's price, and checkout charges it. See pricing.

Faster builds, clearer queues#

• A waiting build shows its place in the queue and your plan's priority. Higher plans build sooner.
• The build cache is kept warm on every app server, so rebuilds reuse more.
• Public repositories always deploy, even when GitHub refuses your token.

Security#

• Sign-in cookies can only be set and read by app.dockhosting.dev.
• Next.js was updated for critical advisories, and security headers were added on every page.
• Dockerfiles can't run a database server or a remote desktop (VNC, Openbox and similar). Use a managed database instead: it's linked to your app, backed up on paid plans, and doesn't use your app's memory.

Support, in the dashboard#

Open a ticket from Support, follow the replies there, and get an email when we answer. A failed deploy also has a button to ask support directly. When a deploy goes live, you can rate it in one click. We read every rating.

Have feedback on any of this? Tell us on Discord.