63 lines
4 KiB
Markdown
63 lines
4 KiB
Markdown
# Dockerfiles and Docker Compose Examples
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[**Dockerfiles**](https://docs.docker.com/engine/reference/builder/) are text documents that contain all commands a user
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could call in a terminal to assemble an application image.
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[**Docker Compose**](https://docs.docker.com/compose/) uses [human-friendly YAML files](https://docs.photoprism.app/developer-guide/technologies/yaml/)
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to configure all application services so you can easily start them with a single command.
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## Why are we using Docker? ##
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Containers are nothing new; [Solaris Zones](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solaris_Containers) have been around for
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about 15 years, first released publicly in 2004. The chroot system call was introduced during
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[development of Version 7 Unix in 1979](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chroot). It is used ever since for hosting
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applications exposed to the public Internet.
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Modern Linux containers are an incremental improvement. A main advantage of Docker is that application images
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can be easily made available to users via Internet. It provides a common standard across most operating
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systems and devices, which saves our team a lot of time that we can then spend [more effectively](https://docs.photoprism.app/developer-guide/issues/#effectiveness-efficiency), for example,
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providing support and developing one of the many features that users are waiting for.
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Human-readable and versioned Dockerfiles as part of our public source code also help avoid "works for me" moments and
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other unwelcome surprises by enabling teams to have the exact same environment everywhere in [development](develop/impish/Dockerfile), staging,
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and [production](photoprism/impish/Dockerfile).
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Last but not least, virtually all file format parsers have vulnerabilities that just haven't been discovered yet.
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This is a known risk that can affect you even if your computer is not directly connected to the Internet.
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Running apps in a container with limited host access is an easy way to improve security without
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compromising performance and usability.
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## What about Virtual Machines? ##
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A virtual machine running its own operating system provides more security, but typically has side effects
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such as lower performance and more difficult handling. You can also run Docker in a VM to get the best of
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both worlds. It's essentially what happens when you run dockerized applications on [virtual cloud servers](https://docs.photoprism.app/getting-started/cloud/digitalocean/)
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and operating systems other than Linux.
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## Alternatives ##
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### Building From Source ###
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You can build and install PhotoPrism from the publicly available [source code](https://docs.photoprism.app/developer-guide/setup/):
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```bash
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git clone https://github.com/photoprism/photoprism.git
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cd photoprism
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make all install DESTDIR=/opt/photoprism
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```
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Missing build dependencies must be installed manually as shown in our human-readable and versioned
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[Dockerfile](https://github.com/photoprism/photoprism/blob/develop/docker/develop/Dockerfile). You often don't
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need to use the exact same versions, so it's possible to replace packages with what is available in your environment.
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Please note that we do not have the resources to provide private users with dependencies and
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[TensorFlow libraries](https://dl.photoprism.app/tensorflow/) for their personal environments. We recommend giving
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Docker a try if you use Linux as it saves developers a lot of time when building, testing, and deploying complex
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applications like PhotoPrism. It also effectively helps avoid "works for me" moments and missing dependencies.
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### Installation Packages ###
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An [unofficial port](https://docs.photoprism.app/getting-started/freebsd/) is available for FreeBSD / FreeNAS users.
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You are invited to contribute by [building and testing standalone packages](https://docs.photoprism.app/developer-guide/) for Linux distributions and other operating systems.
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Updates are [released several times a month](https://docs.photoprism.app/release-notes/), so maintaining the long list of dependencies for additional environments would currently consume too many of [our resources](https://photoprism.app/membership).
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