Creating Dockerfiles

Dockerfile definition

The Dockerfile is a means of defining an application container using instructions like RUN or COPY. Each instruction creates a layer on top of the previous one. This way, a docker build can be cached by layers to speed up build times.

Running a docker image

When you do docker run <repo/image:tag>, the following happens

• The container is started using the last USER defined in the Dockerfile (if any)
• If a CMD was specified in the Dockerfile, runs this command using PID 1, which is the main process of the container

Building containers

When creating your own containers, be aware of the following:

• Fewer instructions means a smaller the resulting container
• Bake all dependencies into your container (e.g. do not install dependencies in a run command)

For development

If you are using docker for development of applications that require a few other services to function, like web apps, consider the following

• Create a user inside the container that has the same uid as you (MacOS and Linux it is 1000 in most cases).
• For an app with a dependency file, copy the dependency file first, then install the dependencies, last copy the code
• Use multistage builds for production if possible

See also my take on multistage Dockerfile using python poetry or an example for mkdocs website.

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Letztes Update: March 25, 2023
Erstellt: November 13, 2022