What Is a Dockerfile And How To Build It – Best Practices

Docker is a platform that enables the creation and running of containerized applications. Containers package source code, dependencies, and runtime environments into reusable units that can be deployed anywhere a container runtime is available. To create a Docker image for an application, a Dockerfile containing instructions for building the container image is used. These instructions include copying files from the host to the container, running commands within the container's filesystem, and setting metadata such as labels. Following best practices when writing Dockerfiles can improve usability, performance, and security of the resulting images.