Simple, zero-downtime deploys with nginx and docker-compose

Tines, a company offering both cloud and self-hosted solutions, faced the challenge of deploying changes to their web application without causing downtime. They explored common solutions like using nginx wrappers, Docker Swarm, or dedicated application proxies but sought a simpler approach. By modifying their docker-compose configuration and implementing a bash script, they achieved zero-downtime deployments through nginx's reload function, allowing new containers to start while old ones continue servicing requests until they are phased out. This straightforward solution, tested extensively and used in production for over six months, aligns with Tines' preference for simple engineering solutions over complex dependencies, allowing them to focus on customer-centric product improvements.