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Build an Image with Build Arguments

Use docker argument in Codefresh pipelines

Building a Docker image that requires build arguments is very easy with Codefresh pipelines.

The source code of the repository is located at https://github.com/codefreshdemo/cf-example-build-arguments. Feel free to fork it if you want to follow along.

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

Using Docker build arguments

The example application is a very simple NodeJS application with the following dockerfile:

Dockerfile

ARG NODE_VERSION
FROM node:$NODE_VERSION

ARG APP_DIR

RUN mkdir -p $APP_DIR

WORKDIR $APP_DIR

COPY package.json .
RUN npm install --silent
COPY . .
EXPOSE 3000

ENV PORT 3000

CMD [ "npm", "start" ]

This Dockerfile expects two build arguments:

  • NODE_VERSION is the version of Node image to use as base
  • APP_DIR is the source directory to be used inside the container

Building a Dockerfile passing values for build arguments

When you build an image locally on your workstation you can define build arguments with the --build-arg syntax:

docker build . -t my-node-app --build-arg NODE_VERSION=8 --build-arg APP_DIR=/usr/src/app

The same thing can also be achieved within a Codefresh pipeline:

codefresh.yml

version: '1.0'
steps:
  main_clone:
    title: Cloning main repository...
    type: git-clone
    repo: 'codefreshdemo/cf-example-build-arguments'
    revision: 'master'
    git: github
  build_my_app:
    title: Building Node.Js Docker Image
    type: build
    image_name: my-app
    working_directory: '.'
    tag: 'master'
    dockerfile: Dockerfile
    build_arguments:
      - NODE_VERSION=8
      - APP_DIR=/usr/src/app

This pipeline checks out the source code of the repository and then builds the Dockerfile by passing the values 8 and /usr/src/app to the two arguments.

Using Docker build arguments in a pipeline

Using Docker build arguments in a pipeline

Using Codefresh variables as build arguments

In the previous pipeline the docker build arguments are defined in the pipeline itself, but you could also use pipeline variables, shared configuration or any other standard mechanism you already have in place.

codefresh.yml

version: '1.0'
steps:
  main_clone:
    title: Cloning main repository...
    type: git-clone
    repo: 'codefreshdemo/cf-example-build-arguments'
    revision: 'master'
    git: github
  build_my_app:
    title: Building Node.Js Docker Image
    type: build
    image_name: my-app
    working_directory: '.'
    tag: 'master'
    dockerfile: Dockerfile
    build_arguments:
      - NODE_VERSION=${{NODE_VERSION_FROM_SHARED_CONFIG}}
      - APP_DIR=${{APP_DIR_PIPELINE_VARIABLE}}

In this case you can also use any of the built-in Codefresh variables.