Build and Run a Custom Nginx Docker Image Using Alpine Linux

In this tutorial, we will create a custom Docker image using Nginx and Alpine Linux, the lightweight Linux distribution popular for its minimal footprint. We will define a simple static website, configure Nginx, and build and run a Docker container from our custom image.

Table of Contents

Prerequisites

Docker installed on your system.
Basic understanding of Dockerfiles and container concepts.
Familiarity with Nginx configurations.

Steps to Build and Run a Custom Nginx Docker Image

1. Prepare Project Files

Create a project directory and add the following files:

Dockerfile
Defines the base image, required software, and instructions to set up the container.

FROM alpine:latest 
RUN apk add --no-cache nginx 
COPY index.html /usr/share/nginx/html/ 
COPY nginx.conf /etc/nginx 
EXPOSE 80 
CMD ["nginx", "-g", "daemon off;"]

index.html
A simple HTML file for the static website.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <title>Welcome to Nginx</title>
    <style>
        body {
            font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
            text-align: center;
            background-color: #f4f4f9;
            margin-top: 50px;
        }
        h1 {
            color: #333;
        }
        p {
            color: #555;
        }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>Welcome to Nginx on Alpine Linux!</h1>
    <p>This is a simple static website served using Nginx and Alpine Linux.</p>
</body>
</html>

nginx.conf
Configuration file for Nginx.

user nginx;
worker_processes auto;

error_log /var/log/nginx/error.log warn;
pid /var/run/nginx.pid;

events {
    worker_connections 1024;
}

http {
    include /etc/nginx/mime.types;
    default_type application/octet-stream;

    log_format main '$remote_addr - $remote_user [$time_local] "$request" '
                    '$status $body_bytes_sent "$http_referer" '
                    '"$http_user_agent" "$http_x_forwarded_for"';
    access_log /var/log/nginx/access.log main;

    sendfile on;
    tcp_nopush on;

    keepalive_timeout 65;

    server {
        listen 80;
        server_name localhost;

        root /usr/share/nginx/html;
        index index.html;

        error_page 404 /404.html;

        location / {
            try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
        }
    }
}

2. Build the Docker Image

Run the following command in the project directory to build the Docker image:

docker build -t custom-nginx .

This command will create a Docker image named custom-nginx.

3. Run the Docker Container

After building the image, use the following command to run the container:

docker run -d -p 8080:80 --name custom-nginx-container custom-nginx

The -d flag runs the container in detached mode.
The -p 8080:80 maps port 8080 on the host to port 80 in the container.
The --name flag names the container custom-nginx-container.

4. Access the Website

Open a browser and navigate to http://localhost:8080. You should see the static website with the message:

Welcome to Nginx on Alpine Linux!
This is a simple static website served using Nginx and Alpine Linux.

Conclusion

By following this tutorial, you’ve successfully built a custom Nginx Docker image using Alpine Linux, configured it to serve a static website, and deployed it as a container. This lightweight and efficient setup is perfect for small-scale web servers and rapid prototyping.