docker init
Creates Docker-related starter files for your project
Usage
docker init [OPTIONS]
Description
Initialize a project with the files necessary to run the project in a container.
Docker Desktop 4.18 and later provides the Docker Init plugin with the docker init CLI command. Run docker init in your project directory to be walked through the creation of the following files with sensible defaults for your project:
- .dockerignore
- Dockerfile
- compose.yaml
- README.Docker.md
If any of the files already exist, a prompt appears and provides a warning as well as giving you the option to overwrite all the files.
Warning
You can't recover overwritten files. To back up an existing file before selecting to overwrite it, rename the file or copy it to another directory.
After running docker init, you can choose one of the following templates:
- ASP.NET Core: Suitable for an ASP.NET Core application.
- Go: Suitable for a Go server application.
- Node: Suitable for a Node server application.
- PHP with Apache: Suitable for a PHP web application.
- Python: Suitable for a Python server application.
- Rust: Suitable for a Rust server application.
- Other: General purpose starting point for containerizing your application.
After docker init has completed, you may need to modify the created files and tailor them to your project. Visit the following topics to learn more about the files:
Options
| Option | Short | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
--version | Display version of the init plugin |
Examples
Example of running docker init
The following example shows the initial menu after running docker init. See the additional examples to view the options for each language or framework.
$ docker init
Welcome to the Docker Init CLI!
This utility will walk you through creating the following files with sensible defaults for your project:
- .dockerignore
- Dockerfile
- compose.yaml
- README.Docker.md
Let's get started!
? What application platform does your project use? [Use arrows to move, type to filter]
> PHP with Apache - (detected) suitable for a PHP web application
Go - (detected) suitable for a Go server application
Python - suitable for a Python server application
Node - suitable for a Node server application
Rust - suitable for a Rust server application
ASP.NET Core - suitable for an ASP.NET Core application
Other - general purpose starting point for containerizing your application
Don't see something you need? Let us know!
Quit
Example of selecting Go
The following example shows the prompts that appear after selecting Go and example input.
? What application platform does your project use? Go
? What version of Go do you want to use? 1.20
? What's the relative directory (with a leading .) of your main package? .
? What port does your server listen on? 3333
CREATED: .dockerignore
CREATED: Dockerfile
CREATED: compose.yaml
CREATED: README.Docker.md
✔ Your Docker files are ready!
Take a moment to review them and tailor them to your application.
When you're ready, start your application by running: docker compose up --build
Your application will be available at http://localhost:3333
Consult README.Docker.md for more information about using the generated files.
Example of selecting Node
The following example shows the prompts that appear after selecting Node and example input.
? What application platform does your project use? Node
? What version of Node do you want to use? 18
? Which package manager do you want to use? yarn
? Do you want to run "yarn run build" before starting your server? Yes
? What directory is your build output to? (comma-separate if multiple) output
? What command do you want to use to start the app? node index.js
? What port does your server listen on? 8000
CREATED: .dockerignore
CREATED: Dockerfile
CREATED: compose.yaml
CREATED: README.Docker.md
✔ Your Docker files are ready!
Take a moment to review them and tailor them to your application.
When you're ready, start your application by running: docker compose up --build
Your application will be available at http://localhost:8000
Consult README.Docker.md for more information about using the generated files.
Example of selecting Python
The following example shows the prompts that appear after selecting Python and example input.
? What application platform does your project use? Python
? What version of Python do you want to use? 3.8
? What port do you want your app to listen on? 8000
? What is the command to run your app (e.g., gunicorn 'myapp.example:app' --bind=0.0.0.0:8000)? python ./app.py
CREATED: .dockerignore
CREATED: Dockerfile
CREATED: compose.yaml
CREATED: README.Docker.md
✔ Your Docker files are ready!
Take a moment to review them and tailor them to your application.
When you're ready, start your application by running: docker compose up --build
Your application will be available at http://localhost:8000
Consult README.Docker.md for more information about using the generated files.
Example of selecting Rust
The following example shows the prompts that appear after selecting Rust and example input.
? What application platform does your project use? Rust
? What version of Rust do you want to use? 1.70.0
? What port does your server listen on? 8000
CREATED: .dockerignore
CREATED: Dockerfile
CREATED: compose.yaml
CREATED: README.Docker.md
✔ Your Docker files are ready!
Take a moment to review them and tailor them to your application.
When you're ready, start your application by running: docker compose up --build
Your application will be available at http://localhost:8000
Consult README.Docker.md for more information about using the generated files.
Example of selecting ASP.NET Core
The following example shows the prompts that appear after selecting ASP.NET Core and example input.
? What application platform does your project use? ASP.NET Core
? What's the name of your solution's main project? myapp
? What version of .NET do you want to use? 6.0
? What local port do you want to use to access your server? 8000
CREATED: .dockerignore
CREATED: Dockerfile
CREATED: compose.yaml
CREATED: README.Docker.md
✔ Your Docker files are ready!
Take a moment to review them and tailor them to your application.
When you're ready, start your application by running: docker compose up --build
Your application will be available at http://localhost:8000
Consult README.Docker.md for more information about using the generated files.
Example of selecting PHP with Apache
The following example shows the prompts that appear after selecting PHP with Apache and example input. The PHP with Apache template is suitable for both pure PHP applications and applications using Composer as a dependency manager. After running docker init, you must manually add any PHP extensions that are required by your application to the Dockerfile.
? What application platform does your project use? PHP with Apache
? What version of PHP do you want to use? 8.2
? What's the relative directory (with a leading .) for your app? ./src
? What local port do you want to use to access your server? 9000
CREATED: .dockerignore
CREATED: Dockerfile
CREATED: compose.yaml
CREATED: README.Docker.md
✔ Your Docker files are ready!
Take a moment to review them and tailor them to your application.
If your application requires specific PHP extensions, you can follow the instructions in the Dockerfile to add them.
When you're ready, start your application by running: docker compose up --build
Your application will be available at http://localhost:9000
Consult README.Docker.md for more information about using the generated files.
Example of selecting Other
The following example shows the output after selecting Other.
? What application platform does your project use? Other
CREATED: .dockerignore
CREATED: Dockerfile
CREATED: compose.yaml
CREATED: README.Docker.md
✔ Your Docker files are ready!
Take a moment to review them and tailor them to your application.
When you're ready, start your application by running: docker compose up --build
Consult README.Docker.md for more information about using the generated files.
Beta
The Docker Init plugin is currently in Beta. Docker recommends that you do not use this in production environments.