Docker, a leading containerization tool, enables efficient application deployment by packaging services and necessary components into lightweight containers that share an operating system. Docker images, constructed from instructions in Dockerfiles, can become large due to unnecessary dependencies and layers, which complicates deployment and increases vulnerability risks. To mitigate this, techniques such as using a .dockerignore file, minimizing installed packages, and employing multi-stage builds are recommended. Multi-stage builds, introduced in Docker 17.05, allow for the division of Dockerfiles into stages, ensuring only essential artifacts are included in the final image, thereby optimizing size and maintainability without sacrificing readability. This approach simplifies the creation of optimized images, enhancing performance and aligning with industry best practices.