Docker Multi-Stage Builds Skill

Create optimized, minimal production images using multi-stage builds with language-specific patterns.

Purpose

Reduce image size by 50-90% by separating build dependencies from runtime, following 2024-2025 best practices.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
language	enum	Yes	-	node/python/go/rust/java
target	string	No	runtime	Build target stage
base_runtime	string	No	-	Custom runtime base image

Multi-Stage Patterns

Node.js (Alpine + Distroless)

# Build stage
FROM node:20-alpine AS builder
WORKDIR /app
COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm ci
COPY . .
RUN npm run build && npm prune --production

# Runtime stage (distroless = minimal attack surface)
FROM gcr.io/distroless/nodejs20-debian12 AS runtime
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=builder /app/dist ./dist
COPY --from=builder /app/node_modules ./node_modules
USER nonroot
CMD ["dist/index.js"]

Python (Slim + Virtual Environment)

# Build stage
FROM python:3.12-slim AS builder
WORKDIR /app
RUN python -m venv /opt/venv
ENV PATH="/opt/venv/bin:$PATH"
COPY requirements.txt .
RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt

# Runtime stage
FROM python:3.12-slim AS runtime
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=builder /opt/venv /opt/venv
ENV PATH="/opt/venv/bin:$PATH"
COPY . .
USER nobody
CMD ["python", "main.py"]

Go (Scratch = Smallest Possible)

# Build stage
FROM golang:1.22-alpine AS builder
WORKDIR /app
COPY go.* ./
RUN go mod download
COPY . .
RUN CGO_ENABLED=0 GOOS=linux go build -ldflags="-s -w" -o /app/server

# Runtime stage (scratch = 0 base size)
FROM scratch AS runtime
COPY --from=builder /app/server /server
COPY --from=builder /etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt /etc/ssl/certs/
USER 65534
ENTRYPOINT ["/server"]

Rust (Musl for Static Linking)

# Build stage
FROM rust:1.75-alpine AS builder
RUN apk add --no-cache musl-dev
WORKDIR /app
COPY . .
RUN cargo build --release --target x86_64-unknown-linux-musl

# Runtime stage
FROM scratch AS runtime
COPY --from=builder /app/target/x86_64-unknown-linux-musl/release/app /app
USER 65534
ENTRYPOINT ["/app"]

Java (JRE Only Runtime)

# Build stage
FROM eclipse-temurin:21-jdk-alpine AS builder
WORKDIR /app
COPY . .
RUN ./gradlew build --no-daemon

# Runtime stage (JRE only, not JDK)
FROM eclipse-temurin:21-jre-alpine AS runtime
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=builder /app/build/libs/*.jar app.jar
USER nobody
ENTRYPOINT ["java", "-jar", "app.jar"]

Size Comparison

Language	Before	After	Reduction
Node.js	1.2GB	150MB	87%
Python	900MB	120MB	87%
Go	800MB	10MB	99%
Rust	1.5GB	5MB	99.7%
Java	600MB	200MB	67%

Error Handling

Common Errors

Error	Cause	Solution
COPY --from failed	Stage not found	Check stage name
not found at runtime	Missing libs	Use alpine, not scratch
permission denied	Non-root user	COPY --chown

Fallback Strategy

1. Start with alpine instead of scratch/distroless
2. Add required libraries incrementally
3. Use ldd to identify missing dependencies

Troubleshooting

Debug Checklist

• All required files copied to runtime stage?
• SSL certificates included for HTTPS?
• User/group exists in runtime image?
• Build artifacts correctly located?

Debug Commands

# Check final image size
docker images myapp:latest

# Inspect layers
docker history myapp:latest --no-trunc

# Compare with baseline
dive myapp:latest

Usage

Skill("docker-multi-stage")

Assets

• assets/Dockerfile.node-multistage - Node.js template
• assets/Dockerfile.python-multistage - Python template

Related Skills

• docker-optimization
• dockerfile-basics