Reducing docker images' size

Plaid, a company with over 80 internal services, operates most of its services as Docker containers. The company uses this approach for both development and production environments, resulting in large Docker images that can take up to 10 minutes to download over a slow corporate VPN connection. To reduce image sizes, Plaid has adopted the `MINIMAL = FAST` equation, which involves three strategies: using a thinner base image, making essential files smaller in size, and getting rid of cruft. By applying these strategies, Plaid was able to reduce the size of its Docker images by shaving off hundreds of megabytes. The company also used multi-stage builds to differentiate between development, CI, and production contexts, which helped keep image sizes minimal. Additionally, Plaid used tools like `dive` and `goweight` to analyze its Docker images and identify opportunities for further optimization. By implementing these strategies, Plaid was able to improve the performance of its applications and reduce the time it takes to deploy new code changes.

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