[rgoulter]

> It's not a Docker alternative, they are very different. There's some overlap in the sense that you can package an app using both. But that would be like saying APT is a Docker alternative.

They do share one use case: run software without having to install it.

I think Docker mostly is about running services in an isolated manner, and is easy to distribute (because its images will run the same way in each host). -- But, I do see some CLI tools provide a docker container, too.

Nix, with its flakes, supports a `nix run` command which is very similar to `docker run` (if you're thinking of "run without installing" rather than "process / network isolation"). -- In that sense, it is like 'Docker, but without containers'.

e.g. you can run `nix run nixpkgs#helix` and try out helix, or even `github:helix-editor/helix` to build & run helix from its source.