Modern Development Environments with Docker

One of the biggest challenges in modern software development is solving the "it works on my machine" problem. Docker eliminates this issue by enabling us to create consistent and portable development environments.

Benefits of Docker for Development

Docker offers numerous advantages in the development process:

- Consistency - The entire team works in the same environment

- Isolation - Projects don't interfere with each other

- Quick Setup - New developers can start in minutes

- Production-like - Minimize differences between development and production

- Clean System - Host system remains clean

- Easy Version Management - Different technology versions are easily managed

Core Docker Concepts

Dockerfile - Image Definition

A Dockerfile defines how your application will run:

Dockerfile


# Example Dockerfile class="keyword">class="keyword">for Node.js application
class="keyword">FROM node:20-alpine class="keyword">AS base

# Create working directory
WORKDIR /app

# Copy package files
COPY package*.json ./

# Install dependencies
RUN npm ci

# Copy application code
COPY . .

# Port information
EXPOSE 3000

# Startup command
CMD [class="keyword">class="string">"npm", class="keyword">class="string">"run", class="keyword">class="string">"dev"]

Multi-Stage Builds

Create optimized images for production:

Dockerfile


# Build stage
class="keyword">FROM node:20-alpine class="keyword">AS builder

WORKDIR /app
COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm ci

COPY . .
RUN npm run build

# Production stage
class="keyword">FROM node:20-alpine class="keyword">AS production

WORKDIR /app
COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm ci --only=production

COPY --class="keyword">from=builder /app/dist ./dist

EXPOSE 3000
CMD [class="keyword">class="string">"node", class="keyword">class="string">"dist/server.js"]

Multi-Service Management with Docker Compose

Docker Compose is ideal for managing multiple services.

Next.js + PostgreSQL + Redis Example

config.yaml


version: class="keyword">class="string">"3.8"

services:
  app:
    build:
      context: .
      dockerfile: Dockerfile.dev
    ports:
      - class="keyword">class="string">"3000:3000"
    volumes:
      - .:/app
      - /app/node_modules
    environment:
      - DATABASE_URL=postgresql:class="keyword">class="comment">//postgres:password@db:5432/myapp
      - REDIS_URL=redis:class="keyword">class="comment">//redis:6379
    depends_on:
      - db
      - redis
    command: npm run dev

  db:
    image: postgres:16-alpine
    ports:
      - class="keyword">class="string">"5432:5432"
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_USER=postgres
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=password
      - POSTGRES_DB=myapp
    volumes:
      - postgres_data:/class="keyword">class="keyword">var/lib/postgresql/data

  redis:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    ports:
      - class="keyword">class="string">"6379:6379"
    volumes:
      - redis_data:/data

volumes:
  postgres_data:
  redis_data:

Dockerfile for Development

Dockerfile


# Dockerfile.dev
class="keyword">FROM node:20-alpine

WORKDIR /app

# Copy package files
COPY package*.json ./

# Install dependencies(including dev dependencies)
RUN npm install

# Install nodemon class="keyword">class="keyword">for hot reload
RUN npm install -g nodemon

EXPOSE 3000

CMD [class="keyword">class="string">"npm", class="keyword">class="string">"run", class="keyword">class="string">"dev"]

Best Practices

1. Use .dockerignore

Exclude unnecessary files from the image:

code.dockerignore

node_modules npm-debug.log .env .env.local .git .gitignore README.md .next .DS_Store dist build coverage

2. Leverage Layer Caching

Copy files that change less frequently first:

Dockerfile


# First dependencies(changes less often)
COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm ci

# Then code(changes frequently)
COPY . .

3. Add Health Checks

Dockerfile


HEALTHCHECK --interval=30s --timeout=3s --start-period=40s \
  CMD node healthcheck.js || exit 1

4. Use Non-Root User

Dockerfile


# Use non-root user class="keyword">class="keyword">for security
RUN addgroup -g 1001 -S nodejs
RUN adduser -S nextjs -u 1001

USER nextjs

Common Use Cases

Working with Database

script.sh

# Start services docker-compose up -d # Run database migrations docker-compose exec app npx prisma migrate dev # Connect to database docker-compose exec db psql -U postgres -d myapp

Viewing Logs

script.sh

# View all logs docker-compose logs # Only app logs docker-compose logs app -f # Last 100 lines docker-compose logs --tail=100

Cleanup and Restart

script.sh

# Stop and clean services docker-compose down # Also remove volumes docker-compose down -v # Rebuild and start docker-compose up --build

Docker Integration with VS Code

Develop directly inside containers with VS Code Dev Containers extension:

data.json


class="keyword">class="comment">// .devcontainer/devcontainer.json
{
  class="keyword">class="string">"name": class="keyword">class="string">"Next.js App",
  class="keyword">class="string">"dockerComposeFile": class="keyword">class="string">"../docker-compose.yml",
  class="keyword">class="string">"service": class="keyword">class="string">"app",
  class="keyword">class="string">"workspaceFolder": class="keyword">class="string">"/app",
  class="keyword">class="string">"customizations": {
    class="keyword">class="string">"vscode": {
      class="keyword">class="string">"extensions": [
        class="keyword">class="string">"dbaeumer.vscode-eslint",
        class="keyword">class="string">"esbenp.prettier-vscode",
        class="keyword">class="string">"bradlc.vscode-tailwindcss"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Performance Tips

1. Use Build Cache

script.sh

# Fast build with BuildKit DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker build -t myapp .

2. Prefer Named Volumes

config.yaml

volumes: # Instead of anonymous volume - node_modules:/app/node_modules

3. Optimize Bind Mounts

config.yaml


volumes:
  - .:/app:delegated # Performance class="keyword">class="keyword">for macOS
  - /app/node_modules # Isolate node_modules class="keyword">from host

Conclusion

Docker is essential for modern development environments. When used correctly, it:

- Increases team productivity

- Reduces onboarding time

- Minimizes production issues

- Provides a clean and consistent development experience

By integrating Docker into your projects, you can find a permanent solution to the "it works on my machine" problem and significantly improve your development process.

Useful Commands

script.sh

# List running containers docker ps # List all containers docker ps -a # List images docker images # Connect to container with shell docker-compose exec app sh # Restart container docker-compose restart app # View container resources docker stats # Clean up everything unused docker system prune -a

Happy coding! 🚀