Docker Backend Skill

This skill containerizes backend projects by detecting the tech stack, fetching the latest base image versions, generating a Dockerfile, and creating a Makefile with build/start/stop/restart targets.

When to Invoke This Skill

Invoke this skill when ANY of these conditions are true:

1. User asks to dockerize a backend: "dockerize this project", "add Docker support", "containerize the backend"
2. User needs a Dockerfile: "create a Dockerfile", "I need Docker for this app"
3. User needs Docker management: "add make targets for Docker", "I need to manage Docker containers"
4. Backend project lacks containerization: Project has no Dockerfile but has backend code

Prerequisites

• Docker installed and running
• Project has identifiable backend code (package.json, requirements.txt, go.mod, etc.)

Workflow

Step 1: Detect Backend Location

Check for backend project in this order:

# Check root first
ls package.json requirements.txt go.mod Cargo.toml pom.xml 2>/dev/null

# If not found, check ./backend/
ls backend/package.json backend/requirements.txt backend/go.mod 2>/dev/null

Set BACKEND_PATH to ./ or ./backend/ based on where manifest files are found.

Step 2: Detect Tech Stack

Invoke the tech-stack-analyzer agent:

Task(subagent_type="tech-stack-analyzer", prompt="
Analyze the project at ${BACKEND_PATH}.
Focus on: primary language, runtime version, package manager
")

Step 3: Get Latest Base Image Version

Use exa-websearch skill or WebSearch to find the latest base image:

For Node.js:

WebSearch: "Docker Hub node official image latest LTS version 2025"

For Python:

WebSearch: "Docker Hub python official image latest version 2025"

For Go:

WebSearch: "Docker Hub golang official image latest version 2025"

Step 4: Generate Dockerfile

Create Dockerfile at ${BACKEND_PATH}/Dockerfile using the appropriate template:

Node.js Template

FROM node:${VERSION}-alpine

WORKDIR /app

# Copy package files
COPY package*.json ./

# Install dependencies
RUN npm ci --only=production

# Copy source code
COPY . .

# Expose port
EXPOSE 3000

# Start application
CMD ["node", "dist/index.js"]

Variations based on project:

• If src/index.ts exists: Add build step, use CMD ["node", "dist/index.js"]
• If src/index.js exists: Use CMD ["node", "src/index.js"]
• If server.js exists: Use CMD ["node", "server.js"]
• If package.json has "start" script: Use CMD ["npm", "start"]

Python Template

FROM python:${VERSION}-slim

WORKDIR /app

# Copy requirements
COPY requirements.txt .

# Install dependencies
RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt

# Copy source code
COPY . .

# Expose port
EXPOSE 8000

# Start application
CMD ["python", "-m", "uvicorn", "app.main:app", "--host", "0.0.0.0", "--port", "8000"]

Variations based on project:

• If manage.py exists (Django): Use CMD ["python", "manage.py", "runserver", "0.0.0.0:8000"]
• If app.py exists (Flask): Use CMD ["python", "app.py"]
• If main.py exists: Use CMD ["python", "main.py"]

Go Template (Multi-stage)

FROM golang:${VERSION}-alpine AS builder

WORKDIR /app

# Copy go mod files
COPY go.mod go.sum ./

# Download dependencies
RUN go mod download

# Copy source code
COPY . .

# Build binary
RUN CGO_ENABLED=0 GOOS=linux go build -o main .

# Runtime stage
FROM alpine:latest

WORKDIR /app

# Copy binary from builder
COPY --from=builder /app/main .

# Expose port
EXPOSE 8080

# Start application
CMD ["./main"]

Step 5: Validate Dockerfile

Run docker build to validate:

cd ${BACKEND_PATH}
docker build -t $(basename $(pwd))-test .
docker rmi $(basename $(pwd))-test

If build fails, analyze error and fix Dockerfile.

Step 6: Create/Update Makefile

Check if Makefile exists at ${BACKEND_PATH}/Makefile:

If Makefile does NOT exist, create it:

# Docker configuration
IMAGE_NAME ?= $(shell basename $(CURDIR))
CONTAINER_NAME ?= $(IMAGE_NAME)-container
HOST_PORT ?= 8080
CONTAINER_PORT ?= 8080

.PHONY: build start stop restart logs clean

## Build Docker image
build:
	docker build -t $(IMAGE_NAME) .

## Start container (use HOST_PORT=XXXX to override)
start:
	docker run -d --name $(CONTAINER_NAME) -p $(HOST_PORT):$(CONTAINER_PORT) $(IMAGE_NAME)

## Stop and remove container
stop:
	docker stop $(CONTAINER_NAME) || true
	docker rm $(CONTAINER_NAME) || true

## Restart container
restart: stop start

## Follow container logs
logs:
	docker logs -f $(CONTAINER_NAME)

## Remove container and image
clean: stop
	docker rmi $(IMAGE_NAME) || true

If Makefile EXISTS, append Docker targets if missing:

1. Check for existing build:, start:, stop:, restart: targets
2. If Docker targets don't exist, append them with docker- prefix:
   • docker-build, docker-start, docker-stop, docker-restart

Step 7: Validate Makefile

Run validation:

cd ${BACKEND_PATH}
make build
make start
sleep 2
docker ps | grep $(basename $(pwd))
make stop

If validation fails, analyze and fix.

Port Override Usage

Users can override the host port:

# Override at invocation
make start HOST_PORT=3000

# Or export before running
export HOST_PORT=3000
make restart

# Override both ports
make start HOST_PORT=3000 CONTAINER_PORT=3000

Error Handling

Dockerfile Build Fails

1. Check base image exists: docker pull <base-image>
2. Check COPY paths match actual file structure
3. Check CMD matches actual entry point file
4. For Node.js: Ensure package-lock.json exists for npm ci

Makefile Validation Fails

1. Check Docker daemon is running: docker info
2. Check port is not in use: lsof -i :${HOST_PORT}
3. Check container name conflict: docker ps -a | grep ${CONTAINER_NAME}

Example Invocation

Scenario: User says "dockerize this Node.js backend"

Actions:

1. Detect: Found package.json at ./
2. Tech stack: Node.js 20.x with Express
3. Web search: Latest Node LTS is 24.12.0
4. Generate: Create Dockerfile with FROM node:24-alpine
5. Validate: docker build succeeds
6. Makefile: Create with all targets and HOST_PORT override
7. Validate: make build restart succeeds

Do NOT Invoke When

• Project already has a well-configured Dockerfile
• User is working on frontend-only code
• User explicitly wants a different containerization approach (e.g., Podman, containerd)
• Project uses a non-standard build system that requires custom handling

Supported Tech Stacks

Current Latest Base Images

These versions were current as of January 2025. Always use web search to get the latest: