Dockerfile Best Practices

Comprehensive guide for creating optimized, secure, and fast Docker images using modern BuildKit features.

Workflow

1. Identify language/framework → Pick template from Language Templates
2. Apply essential rules → Every Dockerfile must follow Essential Rules
3. Security hardening → Non-root user, pin versions, secrets management
4. Optimize for cache → Separate deps from code, use cache mounts
5. Multi-stage if needed → Compiled languages or distroless runtime
6. Add metadata → OCI labels, HEALTHCHECK, STOPSIGNAL
7. Review → Run scripts/analyze_dockerfile.py or scripts/analyze_compose.py

Essential Rules (Always Apply)

1. BuildKit syntax directive (first line, always)