January 10, 2026
Nap, Snap, Repeat
Code and Let Live
Internet hypes “cloud computers that nap,” skeptics ask if it’s just an old trick
TLDR: Fly.io launched Sprites—fast, durable cloud computers that sleep when idle and can instantly “rewind.” The community split: fans see a new playground for AI-driven apps, skeptics ask if it’s just a rebrand of existing tools and push for clear pricing and a smooth path from tinkering to production.
Fly.io just declared read-only coding cages dead and dropped “Sprites,” tiny cloud computers that pop up in seconds, remember your stuff, go to sleep when you do, and can rewind your whole system like saved game checkpoints. Think “BIC disposable cloud computers” you can spin up, pause, and resume on demand—no fussy setup, just vibes. You can even grab a link at sprites.dev.
The crowd went full split-screen. On Team Future, jmogly swooned that software will get “unimaginably dynamic,” reshaping itself around whatever the user wants—Sprites feel like a door to that. Power user simonw was giddy about running AI coding tools in YOLO mode inside a safe, persistent playground that won’t ruin your main machine. Meanwhile, skybrian lobbed the drama grenade: isn’t this basically what exe.dev is doing? “Coincidence?” Cue spicy side-eyes and who-did-it-first energy.
The pragmatists chimed in. indigodaddy asked for the Pixar montage: cool for building, but how do you push the finished thing to production on Fly without friction? And memset wanted a plain-English bill: is this just a server that auto-naps, with costs only when it’s awake?
The meme moment? That “BIC disposable” line. The commentariat imagined tossing Sprites like cheap pens—“flick it, fix it, forget it.” Devs are torn: ditching sandboxes for durable machines thrills experimenters, but the careful crowd wants clarity on workflow and price before lighting the YOLO fuse.
Key Points
- •Fly.io introduces “Sprites,” durable cloud computers that can be created in about 1–2 seconds.
- •Sprites automatically sleep when idle, stop metering, and retain state with 100GB starting storage.
- •They support first-class checkpoint and restore, enabling near-instant system-wide rollbacks (~1 second).
- •Compared to EC2 instances, Sprites can be created in large numbers quickly, offer Anycast HTTPS, and remain durable until deletion.
- •Fly.io contrasts Sprites with stateless containers (Fly Machines), arguing agents benefit from persistent computers with durable storage.