docker-templates/node

Node.js Docker Templates

Production-ready Dockerfile templates using pnpm - the fast, disk-efficient package manager.

Templates

File	Base Image	Size	Use Case
Dockerfile	node:22-slim	~200MB	Standard production
Dockerfile.alpine	node:22-alpine	~130MB	Size optimized
Dockerfile.distroless	distroless/nodejs22	~110MB	Maximum security

Quick Start

# Copy template to your project
cp Dockerfile .dockerignore /path/to/your/project/

# Build
docker build -t myapp .

# Run
docker run -p 3000:3000 myapp

Features

🚀 PNPM Package Manager

• 2x faster than npm
• Disk efficient via content-addressable storage
• Strict dependency resolution
• Native workspace support

📦 Multi-Stage Build

# Stage 1: Install dependencies
FROM node:22-slim AS deps
RUN pnpm install --frozen-lockfile --prod

# Stage 2: Build application
FROM node:22-slim AS builder
RUN pnpm build

# Stage 3: Minimal runtime
FROM node:22-slim AS runtime
COPY --from=builder /app/dist ./dist

🔒 Security Hardened

• Non-root user (appuser:1000)
• No devDependencies in production
• Health checks included
• Distroless option for zero CVE base

⚡ Build Cache Optimization

# Cache pnpm store across builds
RUN --mount=type=cache,id=pnpm,target=/root/.local/share/pnpm/store \
    pnpm install --frozen-lockfile

Project Setup

Required: package.json

{
  "name": "myapp",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "type": "module",
  "main": "dist/index.js",
  "scripts": {
    "build": "tsc",
    "start": "node dist/index.js"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "express": "^4.21.0"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "typescript": "^5.6.0",
    "@types/node": "^22.0.0"
  }
}

Generate Lock File

# Install pnpm if needed
npm install -g pnpm
# Or via corepack
corepack enable && corepack prepare pnpm@latest --activate

# Create lock file
pnpm install

Customization

Change Node Version

ARG NODE_VERSION=20
FROM node:${NODE_VERSION}-slim AS deps

Change Port

EXPOSE 8080
HEALTHCHECK ... 'http://localhost:8080/health' ...

Add Native Dependencies

For packages requiring native compilation (node-gyp):

FROM node:22-slim AS deps

# Install build tools
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
    python3 \
    make \
    g++ \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

Custom Entrypoint

# With npm script
CMD ["pnpm", "start"]

# Direct node execution
CMD ["node", "--enable-source-maps", "dist/index.js"]

# With environment validation
CMD ["sh", "-c", "node dist/validate-env.js && node dist/index.js"]

For Next.js / Nuxt / Other Frameworks

# Copy standalone output (Next.js)
COPY --from=builder /app/.next/standalone ./
COPY --from=builder /app/.next/static ./.next/static
COPY --from=builder /app/public ./public
CMD ["node", "server.js"]

Choosing the Right Template

Template	Size	Security	Debug	Native Modules
Dockerfile (slim)	⭐⭐	⭐⭐	✅ Easy	✅ Works
Dockerfile.alpine	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐	✅ Easy	⚠️ May need rebuild
Dockerfile.distroless	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	❌ Hard	✅ Works

When to Use Each

• slim: Default choice, best compatibility
• alpine: Size-constrained environments, simple apps
• distroless: Production Kubernetes, compliance requirements

Troubleshooting

"Cannot find module" errors

Ensure your build script outputs to dist/:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "outDir": "./dist"
  }
}

pnpm-lock.yaml not found

Generate it locally first:

pnpm install
git add pnpm-lock.yaml

Native module compilation fails on Alpine

Install build dependencies:

RUN apk add --no-cache python3 make g++

Health check failing

Ensure your app has a /health endpoint or adjust:

HEALTHCHECK CMD node -e "process.exit(0)"

Resources

• pnpm Documentation
• Node.js Docker Best Practices
• Distroless Node.js
• Docker Multi-Stage Builds