Docker multi-stage build for Next.js

7906 views

                  FROM node:20-alpine AS deps
WORKDIR /app
COPY package.json package-lock.json ./
RUN npm ci

FROM node:20-alpine AS builder
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=deps /app/node_modules ./node_modules
COPY . .
RUN npm run build

FROM node:20-alpine AS runner
WORKDIR /app
ENV NODE_ENV=production
RUN addgroup -S nodejs && adduser -S nextjs -G nodejs
COPY --from=builder /app/.next/standalone ./
COPY --from=builder /app/.next/static ./.next/static
COPY --from=builder /app/public ./public
USER nextjs
EXPOSE 3000
CMD ["node", "server.js"]

A single-stage Dockerfile tends to ship your entire build toolchain into production, which makes images bigger and slower to deploy. I prefer multi-stage builds: one stage installs deps + builds, the final stage runs only the minimal production output. I also pay attention to file ownership and a non-root user so the container doesn’t run as root by default. For Node apps, setting NODE_ENV=production and pruning dev dependencies usually pays off immediately. If you’re using Next.js standalone output, you can copy just .next/standalone plus static assets. The result is smaller images, faster cold starts, and fewer surprises when you scan images for vulnerabilities.

Mateo Rodriguez

More from Mateo Rodriguez

Docker multi-stage build for Next.js

0 Comments

More from Mateo Rodriguez