Flyctl Builtins - The Fly Changelog for August

Summary

Flyctl v0.0.139 adds built-in builders for Node, Ruby, Deno, Go, and static web servers, allowing an app to be initialized and deployed without a Dockerfile. The release also lets flyctl init select a public Docker image, stores that choice in fly.toml, and supports repeatable image builds with configurable ports and health checks. Region visibility improves through backup-region listings and a (b) marker in flyctl status, while guided certificate creation supplies DNS instructions for traffic direction and ownership verification. Additional changes include --import, --local-only, timestamped JSON status output, orgs and dns commands, and clearer deployment and authentication messaging. The changelog notes that orgs and dns remain works in progress, and version 0.0.139 fixes an issue with builtin init.

Takeaways

1. 1

   Builtin builders support Node, Ruby, Deno, Go, and static web servers, so the documented init-and-deploy flow does not require a Dockerfile.

2. 2

   Selecting a public Docker image through flyctl init persists the image in fly.toml, where ports and health checks can also be configured for repeatable builds.

3. 3

   flyctl regions list now shows associated backup regions, while flyctl status marks an app running outside its region pool with (b).