Tink vs Docker
Docker is a container runtime. It also records docker ps. That is not a mechanic. Tink installs in one command, watches the Linux host, explains what is wrong, and helps you fix it.
Docker runs the container. Tink answers “why is this VPS sick?”
Accidental sysadmins land on Docker because every app README starts with docker compose up. Then the volume fills, host nginx dies, and docker ps still shows Up — no container matched host fill. A filling /var is a Tink warning; it is not a Docker job unless you wrote a HEALTHCHECK and watched it.
Tink is the other job: detect the issue on the machine, say why it happened in plain English, propose the command, and run it only after you approve. Keep using Docker if you already run containers. Use Tink if you run Linux servers and want a mechanic.
| Feature | Tink | Docker |
|---|---|---|
| Setup time | 30 seconds (one curl | sh command) | Hours — daemon, compose files, networks, volumes, and a host that still has no mechanic after docker ps looks fine |
| What you get | Working monitoring, diagnosis, and approved fixes | Containers running. Disk fill, host nginx, Postgres, and certs stay your problem until you SSH in |
| Pricing | Free (Scout) / $9 / $29 per machine per month | Docker Engine is free. Docker Desktop and Docker Hub paid tiers exist. You still pay the engineer who owns the host after the container started |
| Hidden costs | None — fully managed | A quiet host at 2am, overlay disk fill, and a second tool to tell you the VPS is sick while docker ps still shows Up |
| Monitoring approach | Agent on the server — CPU, disk, services, logs, certs, ports | Container status and docker stats. Docker does not watch a quiet cert or host auth.log after the container started |
| Configuration | None after install — heuristics and AI | Compose files, bind mounts, restart policies, and which container death actually pages you |
| Plain-English diagnosis | Yes — AI explains root cause, impact, and fix | You read docker logs and docker inspect, then SSH in to change the host Docker already started |
| Fix execution | Proposes and executes approved commands with an audit trail | Restart and recreate only — Docker cannot free host disk, rotate a cert, or stop SSH brute-force unless you wrote that runbook |
| Alerting | Built-in across 8 channels | Not a Docker job — HEALTHCHECK, restart policies, and a separate monitoring tool have to fire |
| Predictive alerts | Yes — disk fills in ~6 days, memory and CPU trends | Not a Docker job — a green docker ps does not forecast a quiet volume filling up |
| SSH brute-force detection | Built-in — parses auth.log every scan | Never — Docker does not read host auth.log, journald, or firewall state after the container started |
| Machine offline detection | Agent presence monitoring with multi-channel alerts | Silence if the box dies after the last docker ps — unless you built a separate uptime check |
| Public status page | Shareable URL with 90-day history | None — Docker has no customer-facing status page |
| Weekly fleet digest | Automated Monday digest + daily brief when issues are open | None — a docker ps recap is not a plain-English fleet narrative |
| On-call tracking | Built-in /oncall command + incident acknowledgment | Not included — wire failed containers into PagerDuty or another incident tool |
| Conversation interface | Telegram, WhatsApp, web dashboard, CLI | docker ps and docker logs. No mechanic you text when /var filled and the last container still showed Up |
| Learning curve | None — works after install | Steep — images, volumes, networks, compose, and which host failure is the container vs the running box |
| Best for | Freelancers, small teams, accidental sysadmins (1-50 Linux servers) | Teams that already run containers and need a runtime, not a sick-VPS mechanic |
When Docker is the right choice
Keep using Docker when you already want that exact job:
- Container runtime — you need images, compose, and a daemon, not a mechanic.
- An existing Docker workflow — bind mounts, networks, and HEALTHCHECK matter more than host nginx, certs, and SSH on a quiet VPS.
- An existing Docker host — containers already start, compose already ships, and someone owns the daemon.
- Hosts that only page on failed containers — you already run exporters and PromQL, not a sick-box SSH loop.
The real cost of “just run docker ps”
Docker is in every app README. A working ops loop for five Linux boxes is not:
- A green docker ps still means you SSH in and change the box by hand when it gets sick later
- Host fill, nginx, certs, and SSH brute-force never appear unless a separate tool scraped those signals and a rule fired
- A filling /var is a Tink disk warning on every scan — Docker will stay quiet until the next HEALTHCHECK
- A single VPS with a dead agent still needs a mechanic, not another docker stats line
For a 5-server team, Tink Mechanic at $45/month is cheaper than a Docker host plus the engineer who keeps failed-container notifications alive, and every scan includes a diagnosis a quiet docker ps will not type.
No daemon homework. No silent host. One command install.
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