Three Months Ago
I was frustrated. Docker Desktop was $24/month, slow on my M1 Mac, and missing basic features I needed every day. As a senior engineer managing 50+ microservices, I wanted:
- ✅ Natural language commands — "Show me containers using >1GB RAM"
- ✅ Mobile access — Restart crashed containers from my phone
- ✅ AI debugging — Instant root cause analysis for crashes
- ✅ Offline mode — Work on planes, trains, no internet required
- ✅ Better pricing — Not $24/month for a CLI wrapper
Docker Desktop had none of this. So I built it myself.
60 Days of Hacking
I spent nights and weekends building what I called "DockX". A complete rewrite of Docker Desktop:
🧠 AI-First
Built-in AI assistants (Gordon for debugging, Max for monitoring) using Claude API
📱 Mobile Apps
React Native apps for iOS + Android with push notifications
⚡ Fast & Lightweight
Written in Go. 10x faster than Electron-based Docker Desktop
✈️ Offline Mode
Full functionality without internet. Perfect for travel
By day 60, I had a fully working product. CLI, desktop app, mobile apps, AI assistants, backups, monitoring — everything Docker Desktop should have been.
The Email
I was confident Docker would want this. I'd built everything their users were begging for in GitHub issues. So I sent an email to Docker's product team with:
- 📹 Demo video (5 minutes)
- 📊 Comparison benchmarks (DockX vs Docker Desktop)
- 💰 Pricing strategy ($1/mo base, $5/mo Pro)
- 🔗 GitHub repo (private, invited them to review)
Subject: "I built what Docker Desktop should be. Want to acquire it?"
I waited. And waited.
The Rejection
Three weeks later, I got a response:
"Thanks for reaching out. While we appreciate the effort, this doesn't align with our product roadmap at this time."
— Docker Product Team
That was it. No call. No counter-offer. Not even a "let's chat."
They said "No thanks" to:
- ❌ AI-powered debugging that could save hours of troubleshooting
- ❌ Mobile apps for on-call engineers
- ❌ Affordable pricing ($1/mo vs $24/mo)
- ❌ Native performance (Go vs Electron)
- ❌ Offline mode for developers in transit
I was stunned. These were features their users had been requesting for years.
The Decision
I had two choices:
- Shelve it. Go back to paying $24/month for Docker Desktop.
- Launch it. Give developers what they actually want.
The decision was easy. If Docker didn't want to build this, I would.
💡 DockX was born.
Not as a Docker competitor, but as what Docker Desktop should have been all along.
Today
DockX is now available to everyone. Here's what you get:
DockX
- ✓ CLI + Terminal UI
- ✓ Gordon AI
- ✓ Offline Mode
- ✓ VS Code Extension
DockX Pro
- ✓ Everything in DockX
- ✓ Mobile Apps (iOS + Android)
- ✓ Max AI (Unlimited)
- ✓ Push Notifications
- ✓ Backups & Restore
Enterprise
- ✓ Everything in Pro
- ✓ Atlas AI (Advanced)
- ✓ Team Collaboration
- ✓ SSO + RBAC
- ✓ Multi-host
Over 1,000 developers have already switched. They're paying 96% less than Docker Desktop and getting 10x more features.
The Bottom Line
Docker rejected this because it threatened their $24/month pricing. But you don't have to settle for less.
No credit card required. Cancel anytime.