Why I Stopped Using Docker in Development

The Industry Standard Trap If you look at any "Modern Web Dev" tutorial, Step 1 is almost always: Install Docker . We are told that Docker is essential for "Environment Parity." We are told it prevents the dreaded "It works on my machine" syndrome. For a team of 50 developers with different operating systems and complex microservice dependencies, Docker is a godsend. But if you are a One-Person Team working on a Rails monolith? Docker in development is a performance tax you don't need to pay. Here is why I deleted Docker Desktop and went back to native development. 1. The File System Friction (The "Mac" Problem) If you are developing on a Mac, Docker is not running natively. It is running inside a virtual machine (VM). When your Rails app in the container needs to read a file from your host machine (like a view template or a line of Ruby code), it has to cross a "bridge" between the VM and your macOS file system. Even with modern optimizations like VirtioFS , there is a latency. Native