How to name Dockerfiles

I'm unsure of how to name Dockerfiles. Many on GitHub use Dockerfile without a file extension. Do I give them a name and extension; if so what? Or do I just call them Dockerfile?

Solution 1:

[Please read the full answer]Don't change the name of the dockerfile if you want to use the autobuilder at hub.docker.com. Don't use an extension for docker files, leave it null. File name should just be: (no extension at all)

Dockerfile

However, now you can name dockerfiles like,

test1.Dockerfile
$ docker build -f dockerfiles/test1.Dockerfile  -t test1_app .

Dockerfile.test1
$ docker build -f dockerfiles/Dockerfile.test1  -t test1_app .

This will also work.

If you handle multiple files that live in the same context, you could use STDIN:

test1.Dockerfile
$ docker build -t test1_app - < test1.Dockerfile

Solution 2:

dev.Dockerfile, test.Dockerfile, build.Dockerfile etc.

On VS Code I use <purpose>.Dockerfile and it gets recognized correctly.

Solution 3:

I know this is an old question, with quite a few answers, but I was surprised to find that no one was suggesting the naming convention used in the official documentation:

$ docker build -f dockerfiles/Dockerfile.debug -t myapp_debug .
$ docker build -f dockerfiles/Dockerfile.prod  -t myapp_prod .
The above commands will build the current build context (as specified by the .) twice, once using a debug version of a Dockerfile and once using a production version.

In summary, if you have a file called Dockerfile in the root of your build context it will be automatically picked up. If you need more than one Dockerfile for the same build context, the suggested naming convention is:

Dockerfile.<purpose>

These dockerfiles could be in the root of your build context or in a subdirectory to keep your root directory more tidy.

Solution 4:

I think you should have a directory per container with a Dockerfile (no extension) in it. For example:

  /db/Dockerfile
  /web/Dockerfile
  /api/Dockerfile

When you build just use the directory name, Docker will find the Dockerfile. e.g:

docker build -f ./db .

Solution 5:

I have created two Dockerfiles in same directory,

# vi one.Dockerfile
# vi two.Dockerfile

to build both Dockerfiles use,

# docker build . -f one.Dockerfile
# docker build . -f two.Dockerfile

Note: you should be in present working directory..