How to handle PHP project code in docker container - docker

Question

I ran into kind of a hen-and-egg problem with my docker setup. In my Dockerfile I install nginx, php and the needed configurations. I also install composer there:
FROM ubuntu
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
curl \
nginx \
nodejs \
php7.0-fpm \
php-intl \
php-pgsql
RUN rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/* && \
echo "\ndaemon off;" >> /etc/nginx/nginx.conf && \
curl -sS https://getcomposer.org/installer | php -- --install-dir=/usr/local/bin && \
chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/
COPY orocrm /etc/nginx/sites-available/
RUN ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-availabe/orocrm /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/orocrm
CMD nginx
Now, the next step would be to actually install all dependencies in the project directory via composer. And this is where the trouble starts: As this is my development machine, I don't want to copy my local project files over to the docker container. Instead, I mounted it in my docker-compose.yml:
version: '3'
services:
web:
...
volumes:
- "./crm-application:/var/www/orocrm/"
I cannot put composer install in the Dockerfile, as the mounting of the directory (in my docker-compose file) is taking place after the Dockerfile is run.
What is the best solution here? Another option which comes to my mind is intially copying the files into the container and later on use a filewatcher to scp the changed files into the container. Not a nice solution, though.
UPDATE I would like to emphasize what my actual problem is: I am on my development machine and I want to continuously update the code and have the changes mirrored instantly withouth building the image once again. Therefore, COPY is not an option.

Answer 1

My suggestion is to copy your content in your container using the COPYcommand, like this
FROM ubuntu
COPY ./crm-application /var/www/orocrm/
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
curl \
nginx \
nodejs \
php7.0-fpm \
php-intl \
php-pgsql
RUN rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/* && \
echo "\ndaemon off;" >> /etc/nginx/nginx.conf && \
curl -sS https://getcomposer.org/installer | php -- --install-dir=/usr/local/bin && \
chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/ && \
composer install
COPY orocrm /etc/nginx/sites-available/
RUN ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-availabe/orocrm /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/orocrm
CMD nginx
Why? in this way you don't need to use docker-compose or another system. You're going to be able to run your single container.
Even if you want to use docker-compose, you're using a volume that allows you to update the code inside your container.
Notice that I've added composer install in the Docker because you've already the code inside the container at the moment of the build.
Regards,
Idir!