Docker container build driver

The Docker container driver allows creation of a managed and customizable BuildKit environment in a dedicated Docker container.

Using the Docker container driver has a couple of advantages over the default Docker driver. For example:

Synopsis

Run the following command to create a new builder, named container, that uses the Docker container driver:

$ docker buildx create \
  --name container \
  --driver=docker-container \
  --driver-opt=[key=value,...]
container

The following table describes the available driver-specific options that you can pass to --driver-opt:

ParameterTypeDefaultDescription
imageStringSets the BuildKit image to use for the container.
memoryStringSets the amount of memory the container can use.
memory-swapStringSets the memory swap limit for the container.
cpu-quotaStringImposes a CPU CFS quota on the container.
cpu-periodStringSets the CPU CFS scheduler period for the container.
cpu-sharesStringConfigures CPU shares (relative weight) of the container.
cpuset-cpusStringLimits the set of CPU cores the container can use.
cpuset-memsStringLimits the set of CPU memory nodes the container can use.
default-loadBooleanfalseAutomatically load images to the Docker Engine image store.
networkStringSets the network mode for the container.
cgroup-parentString/docker/buildxSets the cgroup parent of the container if Docker is using the "cgroupfs" driver.
restart-policyStringunless-stoppedSets the container's restart policy.
env.<key>StringSets the environment variable key to the specified value in the container.

Before you configure the resource limits for the container, read about configuring runtime resource constraints for containers.

Usage

When you run a build, Buildx pulls the specified image (by default, moby/buildkit). When the container has started, Buildx submits the build submitted to the containerized build server.

$ docker buildx build -t <image> --builder=container .
WARNING: No output specified with docker-container driver. Build result will only remain in the build cache. To push result image into registry use --push or to load image into docker use --load
#1 [internal] booting buildkit
#1 pulling image moby/buildkit:buildx-stable-1
#1 pulling image moby/buildkit:buildx-stable-1 1.9s done
#1 creating container buildx_buildkit_container0
#1 creating container buildx_buildkit_container0 0.5s done
#1 DONE 2.4s
...

Cache persistence

The docker-container driver supports cache persistence, as it stores all the BuildKit state and related cache into a dedicated Docker volume.

To persist the docker-container driver's cache, even after recreating the driver using docker buildx rm and docker buildx create, you can destroy the builder using the --keep-state flag:

For example, to create a builder named container and then remove it while persisting state:

# setup a builder
$ docker buildx create --name=container --driver=docker-container --use --bootstrap
container
$ docker buildx ls
NAME/NODE       DRIVER/ENDPOINT              STATUS   BUILDKIT PLATFORMS
container *     docker-container
  container0    desktop-linux                running  v0.10.5  linux/amd64
$ docker volume ls
DRIVER    VOLUME NAME
local     buildx_buildkit_container0_state

# remove the builder while persisting state
$ docker buildx rm --keep-state container
$ docker volume ls
DRIVER    VOLUME NAME
local     buildx_buildkit_container0_state

# the newly created driver with the same name will have all the state of the previous one!
$ docker buildx create --name=container --driver=docker-container --use --bootstrap
container

QEMU

The docker-container driver supports using QEMU (user mode) to build non-native platforms. Use the --platform flag to specify which architectures that you want to build for.

For example, to build a Linux image for amd64 and arm64:

$ docker buildx build \
  --builder=container \
  --platform=linux/amd64,linux/arm64 \
  -t <registry>/<image> \
  --push .

Note

Emulation with QEMU can be much slower than native builds, especially for compute-heavy tasks like compilation and compression or decompression.

Custom network

You can customize the network that the builder container uses. This is useful if you need to use a specific network for your builds.

For example, let's create a network named foonet:

$ docker network create foonet

Now create a docker-container builder that will use this network:

$ docker buildx create --use \
  --name mybuilder \
  --driver docker-container \
  --driver-opt "network=foonet"

Boot and inspect mybuilder:

$ docker buildx inspect --bootstrap

Inspect the builder container and see what network is being used:

$ docker inspect buildx_buildkit_mybuilder0 --format={{.NetworkSettings.Networks}}
map[foonet:0xc00018c0c0]

Further reading

For more information on the Docker container driver, see the buildx reference.