Containerization & Docker Best Practices

Production-grade Docker and containerization strategies for building efficient, secure, and maintainable containers.

Dockerfile Best Practices

Layer Ordering

Order instructions from least to most frequently changing. System deps first, then app deps, then source code. Each instruction creates a layer. Docker caches layers top-down and invalidates everything below a changed layer.

FROM node:20-alpine
RUN apk add --no-cache tini curl
WORKDIR /app
COPY package.json package-lock.json ./
RUN npm ci --omit=dev
COPY . .
ENTRYPOINT ["/sbin/tini", "--"]
CMD ["node", "server.js"]