Bun Docker Deployment
Create optimized Docker images for Bun applications. Bun's small runtime and binary compilation reduce image sizes by 88MB+ compared to Node.js.
Quick Reference
For detailed patterns, see:
- Dockerfile Templates: dockerfile-templates.md - 12+ optimized templates
- Kubernetes: kubernetes.md - K8s manifests, HPA, ingress
- CI/CD: ci-cd.md - GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, build scripts
- Multi-Platform: multi-platform.md - ARM64/AMD64 builds
Core Workflow
1. Check Prerequisites
# Verify Docker is installed
docker --version
# Verify Bun is installed locally
bun --version
# Check if project is ready for deployment
ls -la package.json bun.lockb
2. Determine Deployment Strategy
Ask the user about their needs:
- Application Type: Web server, API, worker, or CLI
- Image Size Priority: Minimal size (40MB binary) vs. debugging tools (90MB Alpine)
- Platform: Single platform or multi-platform (AMD64 + ARM64)
- Orchestration: Docker Compose, Kubernetes, or standalone containers
3. Create Production Dockerfile
Choose the appropriate template based on needs:
Standard Multi-Stage (Recommended)
# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1
FROM oven/bun:1-alpine AS deps
WORKDIR /app
COPY package.json bun.lockb ./
RUN bun install --frozen-lockfile --production
FROM oven/bun:1-alpine AS builder
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=deps /app/node_modules ./node_modules
COPY . .
RUN bun run build
FROM oven/bun:1-alpine AS runtime
WORKDIR /app
RUN addgroup --system --gid 1001 bunuser && \
adduser --system --uid 1001 bunuser
COPY --from=deps --chown=bunuser:bunuser /app/node_modules ./node_modules
COPY --from=builder --chown=bunuser:bunuser /app/dist ./dist
COPY --from=builder --chown=bunuser:bunuser /app/package.json ./
USER bunuser
EXPOSE 3000
HEALTHCHECK --interval=30s --timeout=3s --start-period=5s --retries=3 \
CMD bun run healthcheck.ts || exit 1
CMD ["bun", "run", "dist/index.js"]
Minimal Binary (40MB)
For smallest possible images:
FROM oven/bun:1-alpine AS builder
WORKDIR /app
COPY package.json bun.lockb ./
RUN bun install --frozen-lockfile
COPY . .
RUN bun build ./src/index.ts --compile --outfile server
FROM gcr.io/distroless/base-debian12
COPY --from=builder /app/server /server
EXPOSE 3000
ENTRYPOINT ["/server"]
For other scenarios (monorepo, database apps, CLI tools, etc.), see dockerfile-templates.md.
4. Create .dockerignore
node_modules
bun.lockb
dist
*.log
.git
.env
.env.local
tests/
*.test.ts
coverage/
.vscode/
.DS_Store
Dockerfile
docker-compose.yml
5. Create Health Check Script
Create healthcheck.ts:
#!/usr/bin/env bun
const port = process.env.PORT || 3000;
const healthEndpoint = process.env.HEALTH_ENDPOINT || '/health';
try {
const response = await fetch(`http://localhost:${port}${healthEndpoint}`, {
method: 'GET',
timeout: 2000,
});
if (response.ok) {
process.exit(0);
} else {
console.error(`Health check failed: ${response.status}`);
process.exit(1);
}
} catch (error) {
console.error('Health check error:', error);
process.exit(1);
}
Add health endpoint to your server:
app.get('/health', (req, res) => {
res.json({
status: 'ok',
timestamp: Date.now(),
uptime: process.uptime(),
});
});
6. Build and Test Image
# Build image
docker build -t myapp:latest .
# Check image size
docker images myapp:latest
# Run container
docker run -p 3000:3000 myapp:latest
# Test health endpoint
curl http://localhost:3000/health
7. Setup for Environment
For Local Development with Docker Compose:
Create docker-compose.yml:
version: '3.8'
services:
app:
build:
context: .
dockerfile: Dockerfile.dev
ports:
- "3000:3000"
volumes:
- .:/app
- /app/node_modules
environment:
- NODE_ENV=development
depends_on:
- db
- redis
db:
image: postgres:16-alpine
environment:
POSTGRES_USER: user
POSTGRES_PASSWORD: pass
POSTGRES_DB: mydb
ports:
- "5432:5432"
redis:
image: redis:7-alpine
ports:
- "6379:6379"
Run with: docker-compose up
For Kubernetes Deployment:
See kubernetes.md for complete manifests including:
- Deployment configuration
- Service and Ingress
- Secrets and ConfigMaps
- Horizontal Pod Autoscaling
- Resource limits optimized for Bun
For CI/CD:
See ci-cd.md for:
- GitHub Actions workflow
- GitLab CI configuration
- Build and push scripts
- Automated deployments
For Multi-Platform (ARM64 + AMD64):
See multi-platform.md for:
- Multi-platform Dockerfile
- Buildx configuration
- Testing on different architectures
8. Update package.json
Add Docker scripts:
{
"scripts": {
"docker:build": "docker build -t myapp:latest .",
"docker:run": "docker run -p 3000:3000 myapp:latest",
"docker:dev": "docker-compose up",
"docker:clean": "docker system prune -af"
}
}
Image Size Comparison
Bun produces significantly smaller images:
| Configuration | Size | Use Case | |--------------|------|----------| | Bun Binary (distroless) | ~40 MB | Production (minimal) | | Bun Alpine | ~90 MB | Production (standard) | | Node.js Alpine | ~180 MB | Baseline comparison |
88MB+ savings with Bun!
Security Best Practices
- Use non-root user (included in Dockerfiles above)
- Scan for vulnerabilities:
docker scan myapp:latest - Use official base images:
oven/bunis official - Keep images updated: Rebuild regularly with latest Bun
- Never hardcode secrets: Use environment variables or secret managers
Optimization Tips
Layer caching:
# Copy dependencies first (changes less often)
COPY package.json bun.lockb ./
RUN bun install
# Copy source code last (changes more often)
COPY . .
RUN bun run build
Reduce layer count:
# Combine RUN commands
RUN bun install && \
bun run build && \
rm -rf tests/
Minimize final image:
# Only copy what's needed in runtime
COPY --from=builder /app/dist ./dist
# Don't copy: src/, tests/, .git/, node_modules (if using binary)
Completion Checklist
- ✅ Dockerfile created (multi-stage or binary)
- ✅ .dockerignore configured
- ✅ Health check implemented
- ✅ Non-root user configured
- ✅ Image built and tested locally
- ✅ Image size verified (<100MB for Alpine, <50MB for binary)
- ✅ Environment configuration ready (docker-compose or K8s)
- ✅ CI/CD pipeline configured (if needed)
Next Steps
After basic deployment:
- Monitoring: Add Prometheus metrics endpoint
- Logging: Configure structured logging
- Secrets: Set up proper secret management
- Scaling: Configure horizontal pod autoscaling (K8s)
- CI/CD: Automate builds and deployments
- Multi-region: Deploy to multiple regions for redundancy
For detailed implementations, see the reference files linked above.