A text file that defines how to build a Docker container image.
Docker can build images automatically by reading the instructions from a Dockerfile. A Dockerfile is a text document that contains all the commands a user could call on the command line to assemble an image. Using docker build command, users can create an automated build that executes several command-line instructions in succession.
# we will inherit from the Debian image on DockerHub
FROM debian
# set timezone so files' timestamps are correct
ENV TZ=America/New_York
# install apache and php 7.3
# we include procps and telnet so you can use these with shell.sh prompt
RUN apt-get update -qq >/dev/null && apt-get install -y -qq procps telnet apache2 php7.3 -qq >/dev/null
# add a user - this user will own the files in /home/app
RUN useradd --user-group --create-home --shell /bin/false app
# set up and copy files to /home/app
ENV HOME=/usr/app
WORKDIR /home/app
COPY . /home/app
# The PHP app is going to save its state in /data so we make a /data inside the container
RUN mkdir /data && chown -R app /data && chmod 777 /data
# we need custom php configuration file to enable userdirs
COPY php.conf /etc/apache2/mods-available/php7.3.conf
# enable userdir and php
RUN a2enmod userdir && a2enmod php7.3
# we run a script to stat the server; the array syntax makes it so ^C will work as we want
CMD ["./entrypoint.sh"]
Components are installed within the container. Apache’s config files are created on the host, then copied to the container.
A “good” Dockerfile
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fast to build
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fast to rebuild after a change
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small image
Layer Caching
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each line in a Dockerfile creates a new layer
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a layer is only recreated if something changes inside the layer
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for most docker instructions, this means that layer creation is skipped if the line in the dockerifle did not change
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COPYwill copy files from your working directory into the container -
if a file that has been copied has changes, this will invalidate the layer cache from this line on
FROM perl:5.30.2-buster
COPY . /usr/src/myapp
WORKDIR /usr/src/myapp
RUN cpanm -n --installdeps .
CMD ["perl", "-I/usr/src/myapp/lib", "/usr/src/myapp/bin/http2matrix.pl"]
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Time to initally build: 66s
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Time to rebuild: 70s
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Size: 885MB
If anything changes in “myapp” the COPY . invalidates the RUN line. We have to reinstall all dependencies every time we change something in our code.
Never ever use COPY . (which copies an entire directory) as any change, including the Dockerfile itself and .git, will invalidate the following layers.
FROM perl:5.30.2-buster
WORKDIR /usr/src/myapp
COPY cpanfile /usr/src/myapp/cpanfile
RUN cpanm -n --installdeps .
COPY bin /usr/src/myapp/bin
COPY lib /usr/src/myapp/lib
CMD ["perl", "-I/usr/src/myapp/lib", "/usr/src/myapp/bin/http2matrix.pl"]
Now, whenever something is changed in the app, you don’t need to reinstall the dependencies (unless the dependencies are changed) which significantly reduces the time to rebuild.
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Time to initially build: 66s
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Time to rebuild: 2s
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Size: 885MB
Reducing Image Size
Prepackaged images are usually large. Buliding a custom image can reduce size.
FROM debian:buster-slim #operating system
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y ... && apt-get clean && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists
WORKDIR /usr/src/myapp
COPY cpanfile /usr/src/myapp/cpanfile
RUN cpanm -n --installdeps .
COPY bin /usr/src/myapp/bin
COPY lib /usr/src/myapp/lib
CMD ["perl", "-I/usr/src/myapp/lib", "/usr/src/myapp/bin/http2matrix.pl"]
The first RUN statement is cached as one layer. It installs updates and whatever packages you need, then cleans up the cache in the image to reduce size.
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Time to initially build: 131s
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Time to rebuild: 2s
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Size: 341MB
It’s longer to initially build, however the image size is reduced which helps with storage costs.
Summary
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Never use
COPY . -
Think about the ordering of your Dockerfile statements to optimize layer caching and build time
References
domm - Writing a good Dockerfile for Perl apps - YouTube