Docker Patterns

---
name: docker-patterns
description: "Use when writing or reviewing Dockerfiles and Docker Compose stacks: local dev services, volumes, networking, container security and installer test harnesses."
tags: ["devops","docker","security"]
tools: []
license: MIT
source: https://github.com/affaan-m/ECC
source_path: "skills/docker-patterns"
source_commit: bf70150eb2df8070024e5bdf08e4aa08959e2735
---
# Docker Patterns

Docker and Docker Compose best practices for containerized development.

## Docker Compose for Local Development

### Standard Web App Stack

```yaml
# docker-compose.yml
services:
  app:
    build:
      context: .
      target: dev                     # Use dev stage of multi-stage Dockerfile
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    volumes:
      - .:/app                        # Bind mount for hot reload
      - /app/node_modules             # Anonymous volume -- preserves container deps
    environment:
      - DATABASE_URL=postgres://postgres:postgres@db:5432/app_dev
      - REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379/0
      - NODE_ENV=development
    depends_on:
      db:
        condition: service_healthy
      redis:
        condition: service_started
    command: npm run dev

  db:
    image: postgres:16-alpine
    ports:
      - "5432:5432"
    environment:
      POSTGRES_USER: postgres
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: postgres
      POSTGRES_DB: app_dev
    volumes:
      - pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data
      - ./scripts/init-db.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/init.sql
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U postgres"]
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 3s
      retries: 5

  redis:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    ports:
      - "6379:6379"
    volumes:
      - redisdata:/data

  mailpit:                            # Local email testing
    image: axllent/mailpit
    ports:
      - "8025:8025"                   # Web UI
      - "1025:1025"                   # SMTP

volumes:
  pgdata:
  redisdata:
```

### Development vs Production Dockerfile

```dockerfile
# Stage: dependencies
FROM node:22-alpine AS deps
WORKDIR /app
COPY package.json package-lock.json ./
RUN npm ci

# Stage: dev (hot reload, debug tools)
FROM node:22-alpine AS dev
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=deps /app/node_modules ./node_modules
COPY . .
EXPOSE 3000
CMD ["npm", "run", "dev"]

# Stage: build
FROM node:22-alpine AS build
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=deps /app/node_modules ./node_modules
COPY . .
RUN npm run build && npm prune --production

# Stage: production (minimal image)
FROM node:22-alpine AS production
WORKDIR /app
RUN addgroup -g 1001 -S appgroup && adduser -S appuser -u 1001
USER appuser
COPY --from=build --chown=appuser:appgroup /app/dist ./dist
COPY --from=build --chown=appuser:appgroup /app/node_modules ./node_modules
COPY --from=build --chown=appuser:appgroup /app/package.json ./
ENV NODE_ENV=production
EXPOSE 3000
HEALTHCHECK --interval=30s --timeout=3s CMD wget -qO- http://localhost:3000/health || exit 1
CMD ["node", "dist/server.js"]
```

### Override Files

```yaml
# docker-compose.override.yml (auto-loaded, dev-only settings)
services:
  app:
    environment:
      - DEBUG=app:*
      - LOG_LEVEL=debug
    ports:
      - "9229:9229"                   # Node.js debugger

# docker-compose.prod.yml (explicit for production)
services:
  app:
    build:
      target: production
    restart: always
    deploy:
      resources:
        limits:
          cpus: "1.0"
          memory: 512M
```

```bash
# Development (auto-loads override)
docker compose up

# Production
docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.prod.yml up -d
```

## Networking

### Service Discovery

Services in the same Compose network resolve by service name:
```
# From "app" container:
postgres://postgres:postgres@db:5432/app_dev    # "db" resolves to the db container
redis://redis:6379/0                             # "redis" resolves to the redis container
```

### Custom Networks

```yaml
services:
  frontend:
    networks:
      - frontend-net

  api:
    networks:
      - frontend-net
      - backend-net

  db:
    networks:
      - backend-net              # Only reachable from api, not frontend

networks:
  frontend-net:
  backend-net:
```

### Exposing Only What's Needed

```yaml
services:
  db:
    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:5432:5432"   # Only accessible from host, not network
    # Omit ports entirely in production -- accessible only within Docker network
```

## Volume Strategies

```yaml
volumes:
  # Named volume: persists across container restarts, managed by Docker
  pgdata:

  # Bind mount: maps host directory into container (for development)
  # - ./src:/app/src

  # Anonymous volume: preserves container-generated content from bind mount override
  # - /app/node_modules
```

### Common Patterns

```yaml
services:
  app:
    volumes:
      - .:/app                   # Source code (bind mount for hot reload)
      - /app/node_modules        # Protect container's node_modules from host
      - /app/.next               # Protect build cache

  db:
    volumes:
      - pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data          # Persistent data
      - ./scripts/init.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/init.sql  # Init scripts
```

## Container Security

### Dockerfile Hardening

```dockerfile
# 1. Use specific tags (never :latest)
FROM node:22.12-alpine3.20

# 2. Run as non-root
RUN addgroup -g 1001 -S app && adduser -S app -u 1001
USER app

# 3. Drop capabilities (in compose)
# 4. Read-only root filesystem where possible
# 5. No secrets in image layers
```

### Compose Security

```yaml
services:
  app:
    security_opt:
      - no-new-privileges:true
    read_only: true
    tmpfs:
      - /tmp
      - /app/.cache
    cap_drop:
      - ALL
    cap_add:
      - NET_BIND_SERVICE          # Only if binding to ports < 1024
```

### Secret Management

```yaml
# GOOD: Use environment variables (injected at runtime)
services:
  app:
    env_file:
      - .env                     # Never commit .env to git
    environment:
      - API_KEY                  # Inherits from host environment

# GOOD: Docker secrets (Swarm mode)
secrets:
  db_password:
    file: ./secrets/db_password.txt

services:
  db:
    secrets:
      - db_password

# BAD: Hardcoded in image
# ENV API_KEY=sk-proj-xxxxx      # NEVER DO THIS
```

## Hardened CLI Installer Harnesses

Use containers to test installer behavior against disposable project copies without allowing the test to mutate the source checkout.

### Respect the Platform Boundary

- Run real containers for Linux distributions such as Debian and Ubuntu.
- macOS cannot run as a Docker container because Docker shares a Linux kernel. Run the same shell-free test entry point natively on macOS.
- Windows containers require a Windows Docker engine. Run platform-independent logic on a native Windows CI runner and reserve Windows containers for a Windows host.
- Keep a native Ubuntu/macOS/Windows CI matrix for host-specific paths, command shims, quoting, and filesystem behavior.

Do not claim that a Linux container validates macOS or Windows behavior.

### Enforce the Isolation Contract

- Pin base images by immutable digest and pin installed CLI versions.
- Run as a non-root numeric UID/GID when distro account names differ.
- Mount the repository and source project read-only.
- Copy the source project into a writable `tmpfs` workspace before any mutation.
- Mount `/workspace` with `noexec`, UID/GID 1000, and `mode=0700` so only the
  container user can inspect project data.
- Keep npm and npx's executable cache at `NPM_CONFIG_CACHE=/tmp/npm-cache` on
  the executable `/tmp` mount. Its default size is 2 GiB and can be adjusted
  with `ECC_TMPFS_SIZE`; `ECC_WORKSPACE_SIZE` separately controls the private
  workspace mount.
- Set `read_only: true`, `no-new-privileges:true`, `cap_drop: [ALL]`, and a finite `pids_limit`.
- Keep the default real-CLI services on `network_mode: none`. Add network access
  only through a visibly named opt-in service for an authenticated provider
  session; never make it an accidental environment-driven default.
- Create only the writable temporary paths the tool needs.
- Do not pass host credentials into the container by default.
- Default to a dry run and whitelist only the explicit `dry-run`, `install`,
  `plugin`, and `shell` modes.
- Use argument arrays or `spawnSync(..., { shell: false })` for cross-platform runners. Never interpolate project paths into a shell command.

### Exercise the ECC Plugin Setup Harness

Use `docker/plugin-setup/compose.yaml` as the reference implementation. It provides:

- `fixture-tests` for the focused install manifest, target, and executor suite.
- `real-cli` for the pinned Debian-based generic Linux image.
- `real-cli-ubuntu` for the pinned Ubuntu image.

Validate the Compose model before building:

```bash
docker compose -f docker/plugin-setup/compose.yaml config --quiet
```

Build both real Linux images:

```bash
docker compose -f docker/plugin-setup/compose.yaml \
  build real-cli real-cli-ubuntu
```

Run the safe default flow in each image:

```bash
docker compose -p ecc-plugin-debian-test \
  -f docker/plugin-setup/compose.yaml \
  run --rm -T real-cli dry-run

docker compose -p ecc-plugin-ubuntu-test \
  -f docker/plugin-setup/compose.yaml \
  run --rm -T real-cli-ubuntu dry-run
```

The dry run executes the current public command contract:

```bash
ecc install --profile core --target claude-project --dry-run --json
```

Before that command runs, the container creates a locally packed npm artifact
from the read-only checkout with `npm pack --ignore-scripts`. It extracts the
self-created tarball under `/tmp`, validates the `ecc-universal` package name,
required install manifests, and the confined `package.json` `bin.ecc` mapping,
then invokes the extracted `ecc` executable. The runtime stays on
`network_mode: none`, does not execute package lifecycle scripts, and does not
rely on host `node_modules`; its exact pinned production dependencies are
already present in the image.

The harness rejects an empty plan, a non-`claude-project` target, any operation
outside `/workspace/project/.claude`, or any dry run that creates the target
directory. `install` performs the isolated apply twice, checks its managed
install state, lists the installed target, and runs `doctor`.

### Start, Open, Reconnect, and Clean Up a Named Session

Start a detached container without `--rm` so leaving a terminal does not remove
the session:

```bash
docker compose -p ecc-plugin-session \
  -f docker/plugin-setup/compose.yaml \
  run --detach --name ecc-plugin-shell real-cli shell
```

The container copies the read-only fixture to the stable private directory
`/workspace/project`. Confirm it is running, then emit the Docker side of the
terminal-opener v1 data contract:

```bash
docker inspect --format '{{.State.Running}}' ecc-plugin-shell
node docker/plugin-setup/interactive-plan.js \
  --container ecc-plugin-shell \
  --workdir /workspace/project \
  --json \
  -- bash
```

The JSON result has exactly an `executable` and `argv` boundary (plus
`contractVersion: 1`): the executable is `docker`, and argv begins with
`exec`, `-it`, and `-w`. Pass that data to the separate terminal-opener skill
when it is installed. This Docker harness deliberately does not import a
terminal adapter, interpolate a shell command, or manage a host GUI process.
Until then, open the same PTY in the current host terminal directly:

```bash
docker exec -it -w /workspace/project ecc-plugin-shell bash
```

Exit the shell without stopping the detached container. Reconnect with the
same `docker exec -it` command. When finished, remove the exact named container
and its Compose project resources:

```bash
docker rm --force ecc-plugin-shell
docker compose -p ecc-plugin-session \
  -f docker/plugin-setup/compose.yaml \
  down --remove-orphans
```

Host credentials are absent by default and credential directories are never
mounted. The default service also has no network access. When an authenticated
provider session genuinely needs a network, build `real-cli` first and then opt
in visibly with `docker compose --profile networked run real-cli-networked
shell`. Prefer authenticating inside that disposable session. If a CI run must
inherit a host environment credential, make that opt-in at invocation with an
explicit Compose `--env NAME` flag, understand that the value is inspectable
and can be exfiltrated for the container lifetime, and remove the exact named
container immediately after.

Run the same focused suite natively on the host:

```bash
npm run test:plugin-setup-platform
```

Inspect the produced identity and environment before trusting the image:

```bash
docker image inspect ecc-plugin-setup:debian ecc-plugin-setup:ubuntu
```

Clean each named test project without deleting unrelated volumes or images:

```bash
docker compose -p ecc-plugin-debian-test \
  -f docker/plugin-setup/compose.yaml down --remove-orphans
docker compose -p ecc-plugin-ubuntu-test \
  -f docker/plugin-setup/compose.yaml down --remove-orphans
```

## .dockerignore

```
node_modules
.git
.env
.env.*
dist
coverage
*.log
.next
.cache
docker-compose*.yml
Dockerfile*
README.md
tests/
```

## Debugging

### Common Commands

```bash
# View logs
docker compose logs -f app           # Follow app logs
docker compose logs --tail=50 db     # Last 50 lines from db

# Execute commands in running container
docker compose exec app sh           # Shell into app
docker compose exec db psql -U postgres  # Connect to postgres

# Inspect
docker compose ps                     # Running services
docker compose top                    # Processes in each container
docker stats                          # Resource usage

# Rebuild
docker compose up --build             # Rebuild images
docker compose build --no-cache app   # Force full rebuild

# Clean up
docker compose down                   # Stop and remove containers
docker compose down -v                # Also remove volumes (DESTRUCTIVE)
docker system prune                   # Remove unused images/containers
```

### Debugging Network Issues

```bash
# Check DNS resolution inside container
docker compose exec app nslookup db

# Check connectivity
docker compose exec app wget -qO- http://api:3000/health

# Inspect network
docker network ls
docker network inspect <project>_default
```

## Anti-Patterns

```
# BAD: Using docker compose in production without orchestration
# Use Kubernetes, ECS, or Docker Swarm for production multi-container workloads

# BAD: Storing data in containers without volumes
# Containers are ephemeral -- all data lost on restart without volumes

# BAD: Running as root
# Always create and use a non-root user

# BAD: Using :latest tag
# Pin to specific versions for reproducible builds

# BAD: One giant container with all services
# Separate concerns: one process per container

# BAD: Putting secrets in docker-compose.yml
# Use .env files (gitignored) or Docker secrets
```