Build an Image by specifying a Dockerfile location

How to choose a Dockerfile to build with Codefresh pipelines

You may have a project where the Dockerfile is not in the root folder of the project. Maybe the repository has multiple projects inside, each with its own Dockerfile, or you simply want to use a different folder for the Docker context.

If you don’t have a Codefresh account already, you can easily create a free one from the sign-up page.

Building a Dockerfile from a different folder

By default, if you run a single command like the one below, Docker uses the Dockerfile of the current folder:

docker build . -t my-web-app

If your Dockerfile is in a different folder, specify it explicitly with:

docker build . -t my-web-app -f subfolder/Dockerfile

Codefresh supports a similar syntax as well. The dockerfile property of the build step can accept a full path.

Here is the full pipeline:

codefresh.yml

version: '1.0'
steps:
  main_clone:
    title: Cloning main repository...
    type: git-clone
    repo: 'codefreshdemo/cf-example-dockerfile-other-location'
    revision: 'master'
    git: github
  build_my_app:
    title: Building Node.Js Docker Image
    type: build
    image_name: my-app
    working_directory: '.'
    tag: 'master'
    dockerfile: docker/Dockerfile

This pipeline checks out the source code of the repository and then builds a Dockerfile found at the subfolder docker while still keeping as Docker context the root directory.

You could also change the Docker build context by editing the working_directory property. By default, it looks at the root folder of the project, but any subfolder path is also valid.

Related articles

CI/CD pipeline examples
Build an Image with the Dockerfile in root directory
Build an Image from a different Git repository
Build and push an Image
Build an Image With build arguments
Steps in pipelines