Why I can't install node_module with docker-sompose run command - node.js

I have a express application. And I use the docker-compose to run it. To run my app I use command:
docker-compsoe up
If I run it at first time and don't have any node_modules - I have an error in terminal, sth like "The module 'express' not found, please install it and try again...". So, I just open one more terminal, and run next command:
docker-compose exec backend npm i
Modules are installed for a few seconds. And and my app start working in the previous terminal. I allways use this method, but now I found command run for docker-compose. It allows you to exec some command in container, when it is not raised. So I wanted to try this command and I deleted ./node_modules directory, stop all containers, close all terminals, open terminal and run command:
docker-compose run backend npm i
Modules started to install, I wait for about 10 minutes but it is stops in the middle. I don't understand why? If I try up and npm i in second terminal it works, but with command run - not. What I do wrong?

You should not install your node modules in a running container. Instead, you shoud install it in your image via your Docker file and then run it via docker or docker-compose.
Your Dockerfile should look like something like this:
FROM node:10 # or the version of node you are using
WORKDIR /usr/src/app #replace this with your app code path
COPY package.json /usr/src/app
RUN npm install
COPY app-code/ /usr/src/app/app-code # again, use your own path
EXPOSE 3000
CMD ["npm", "start"]
You have to run npm install from your dockerfile and not copy your development node folder because the environment from the container may differ from your development environment.
Then you can just run it from your docker-compose file.

Related

Docker container with NodeJs is self shutting down on Window

I have a bit of a problem with the NodeJS that is shutting down after a few seconds from the moment the run command had started to execute.
For a start, I had created a react project by running the command create-react-app <my_project_name>. After this, in the project folder, I had created a docker file named Dockerfile.dev. that looks like:
FROM node:alpine
WORKDIR '/app'
COPY package.json .
RUN npm install
COPY . .
CMD ["npm", "run", "start"]
And compiled it with the command docker build -f Dockerfile.dev -t emy .
The build was a success, but when it had come to run it with the command docker run -p 127.0.0.1:3000:3000 emy . The container is self shutting down after a few seconds.
This is the structure of the generated project:
And the output of the docker running command for git bash terminal:
And for the window terminal:
The container exit code is 0. So it's normal...
Steps to reproduce the problem:
1) Install NodeJS.
2) Install react project generator.
3) Create a project by running the command create-react-app <my_project_name> in the window terminal.
4) Step into the newly created project, with cd <my_project_name>
5) Create Docker file with the content that you can find above.
6) Build the container by running the command docker build -t emy .
7) Now let's reproduce the problem by running the container with the command docker run -p 127.0.0.1:3000:3000 emy
8) Wait 5 seconds (max) and you should have the same problem us me.
The solution to this problem is to add "it" argument to the docker run command. For git bash terminal:
and for window terminal:
Hope this will help others

cannot build docker image

I have been trying to build a Docker image by using this Dockerfile:
FROM mhart/alpine-node:base-6
MAINTAINER techhadmin
COPY ./package.json src/
RUN cd src && npm install
COPY . /src
WORKDIR /src
EXPOSE 3000
CMD ["npm", "start"]
But I receive this error:
/bin/sh: npm: not found
The command '/bin/sh -c cd src && npm install' returned a non-zero code: 127
Any idea how I can solve this?
Read the docs:
https://hub.docker.com/r/mhart/alpine-node/
Is written:
# If you need npm, don't use a base tag
# RUN npm install
So don't use base-6 tag and change FROM image to something like 7
FROM mhart/alpine-node:7
You are seeing this error message because when you tried to run npm install, there is no copy of npm available.
You are using alpine as the base image.
By default, alpine is a small image and so it has a limited set of default programs inside of it. What programs are in the alpine image? Not much.
So if you are trying to run an alpine image with Nodejs you need to do additional work.
To solve it, you have two options:
Find a different base image. - You can try to find a base image that already has Node and NPM inside of it.
Run alpine with some additional commands that attempts to install npm inside of it.
Use someone else's work or building it from scratch.
I recommend finding an image preconfigured with npm inside of it. You can navigate to DockerHub, which is a repository of images.
There is an official Node repository in DockerHub.
https://hub.docker.com/_/node
So you could do something like this:
# Specify base image
FROM node:alpine
# Install some dependencies
RUN npm install
# Setup default command
CMD ["npm", "start"]
The nice thing about node:alpine is that you will not get any additional unnecessary packages, just the absolute stripped down version of Nodejs and nothing else aside from the basics such as the ping command, cat, ls and so on.

How should I Accomplish a Better Docker Workflow?

Everytime I change a file in the nodejs app I have to rebuild the docker image.
This feels redundant and slows my workflow. Is there a proper way to sync the nodejs app files without rebuilding the whole image again, or is this a normal usage?
It sounds like you want to speed up the development process. In that case I would recommend to mount your directory in your container using the docker run -v option: https://docs.docker.com/engine/userguide/dockervolumes/#mount-a-host-directory-as-a-data-volume
Once you are done developing your program build the image and now start docker without the -v option.
What I ended up doing was:
1) Using volumes with the docker run command - so I could change the code without rebuilding the docker image every time.
2) I had an issue with node_modules being overwritten because a volume acts like a mount - fixed it with node's PATH traversal.
Dockerfile:
FROM node:5.2
# Create our app directories
RUN mkdir -p /usr/src/app
WORKDIR /usr/src/app
RUN npm install -g nodemon
# This will cache npm install
# And presist the node_modules
# Even after we are using the volume (overwrites)
COPY package.json /usr/src/
RUN cd /usr/src && npm install
#Expose node's port
EXPOSE 3000
# Run the app
CMD nodemon server.js
Command-line:
to build:
docker build -t web-image
to run:
docker run --rm -v $(pwd):/usr/src/app -p 3000:3000 --name web web-image
You could have also done something like change the instruction and it says look in the directory specified by the build context argument of docker build and find the package.json file and then copy that into the current working directory of the container and then RUN npm install and afterwards we will COPY over everything else like so:
# Specify base image
FROM node:alpine
WORKDIR /usr/app
# Install some dependencies
COPY ./package.json ./
RUN npm install
# Setup default command
CMD ["npm", "start"]
You can make as many changes as you want and it will not invalidate the cache for any of these steps here.
The only time that npm install will be executed again is if we make a change to that step or any step above it.
So unless you make a change to the package.json file, the npm install will not be executed again.
So we can test this by running the docker build -t <tagname>/<project-name> .
Now I have made a change to the Dockerfile so you will see some steps re run and eventually our successfully tagged and built image.
Docker detected the change to the step and every step after it, but not the npm install step.
The lesson here is that yes it does make a difference the order in which all these instructions are placed in a Dockerfile.
Its nice to segment out these operations to ensure you are only copying the bare minimum.

How can you get Grunt livereload to work inside Docker?

I'm trying to use Docker as a dev environment in Windows.
The app I'm developing uses Node, NPM and Bower for setting up the dev tools, and Grunt for its task running, and includes a live reload so the app updates when the code changes. Pretty standard. It works fine outside of Docker but I keep running into the Grunt error Fatal error: Unable to find local grunt. no matter how I try to do it inside Docker.
My latest effort involves installing all the npm and bower dependencies to an app directory in the image at build time, as well as copying the app's Gruntfile.js to that directory.
Then in Docker-Compose I create a Volume that is linked to the host app, and ask Grunt to watch that volume using Grunt's --base option. It still won't work. I still get the fatal error.
Here are the Docker files in question:
Dockerfile:
# Pull base image.
FROM node:5.1
# Setup environment
ENV NODE_ENV development
# Setup build folder
RUN mkdir /app
WORKDIR /app
# Build apps
#globals
RUN npm install -g bower
RUN echo '{ "allow_root": true }' > /root/.bowerrc
RUN npm install -g grunt
RUN npm install -g grunt-cli
RUN apt-get update
RUN apt-get install ruby-compass -y
#locals
ADD package.json /app/
ADD Gruntfile.js /app/
RUN npm install
ADD bower.json /app/
RUN bower install
docker-compose.yml:
angular:
build: .
command: sh /host_app/startup.sh
volumes:
- .:/host_app
net: "host"
startup.sh:
#!/bin/bash
grunt --base /host_app serve
The only way I can actually get the app to run at all in Docker is to copy all the files over to the image at build time, create the dev dependencies there and then, and run Grunt against the copied files. But then I have to run a new build every time I change anything in my app.
There must be a way? My Django app is able to do a live reload in Docker no problems, as per Docker's own Django quick startup instructions. So I know live reload can work with Docker.
PS: I have tried leaving the Gruntfile on the Volume and using Grunt's --gruntfile option but it still crashes. I have also tried creating the dependencies at Docker-Compose time, in the shared Volume, but I run into npm errors to do with unpacking tars. I get the impression that the VM can't cope with the amount of data running over the shared file system and chokes, or maybe that the Windows file system can't store the Linux files properly. Or something.

ELF Header or installation issue with bcrypt in Docker container

Kind of a longshot, but has anyone had any problems using bcrypt in a linux container (specifically docker) and know of an automated workaround? I have the same issue as these two:
Invalid ELF header with node bcrypt on AWSBox
bcrypt invalid elf header when running node app
My Dockerfile
# Pull base image
FROM node:0.12
# Expose port 8080
EXPOSE 8080
# Add current directory into path /data in image
ADD . /data
# Set working directory to /data
WORKDIR /data
# Install dependencies from package.json
RUN npm install --production
# Run index.js
CMD ["npm", "start"]
I get the previously mentioned invalid ELF header error if I have bcrypt already installed in my node_modules, but if I remove it (either just itself or all my packages), it isn't installed for some reason when I build the container. I have to manually enter the container after the build and install it inside.
Is there an automated workaround?
Or maybe, just, what would be a good alternative to bcrypt with a Node stack?
Liam's comment is on the money, just expanding on it for future travellers on the internets.
The issue is that you've copied your node_modules folder into your container. The reason that this is a problem is that bcrypt is a native module. It's not just javascript, but also a bunch of C code that gets compiled at the time of installation.
The binaries that come out of that compilation get stored in the node_modules folder and they're customised to the place they were built. Transplanting them out of their OSX home into a strange Linux land causes them to misbehave and complain about ELF headers and fairy feet.
The solution is to echo node_modules >> .dockerignore and run npm install as part of your Dockerfile. This means that the native modules will be compiled inside the container rather than outside it on your laptop.
With this in place, there is no need to run npm install before your start CMD. Just having it in the build phase of the Dockerfile is fine.
protip: the official node images set NODE_ENV=production by default, which npm treats the same as the --production flag. Most of the time this is a good thing. It is not a good thing when your Dockerfile also contains some build steps that rely on dev dependencies (webpack, etc). In that case you want NODE_ENV=null npm install
pro protip: you can take better advantage of Docker's caching by copying in your package.json separately to the rest of your code. Make your Dockerfile look like this:
# Pull base image
FROM node:0.12
# Expose port 8080
EXPOSE 8080
# Set working directory to /data
WORKDIR /data
# Set working directory to /data
COPY package.json /data
# Install dependencies from package.json
RUN npm install
# Add current directory into path /data in image
ADD . /data
# Run index.js
CMD npm start
And that way Docker will only re-run npm install when you change your package.json, not every time you change a line of code.
Okay, so I have a working automated workaround:
Call npm install --production in the CMD instruction. I'm going to wave my hands at figuring out why I have to install bcrypt at the time of executing the container, but it works.
Updated Dockerfile
# Pull base image
FROM node:0.12
# Expose port 8080
EXPOSE 8080
# Add current directory into path /data in image
ADD . /data
# Set working directory to /data
WORKDIR /data
# Install dependencies from package.json
RUN npm install --production
# Run index.js
CMD npm install --production; npm start
Add this command before RUN npm install in your Dockerfile
RUN apk --no-cache add --virtual builds-deps build-base python3
It worked for me. Maybe it will work for you :)

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