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In addition to the main
context
key that defines the build context each target
can also define additional named contexts with a map defined with key
contexts
.
These values map to the
--build-context
flag in the build command.
Inside the Dockerfile these contexts can be used with the
FROM
instruction or
--from
flag.
The value can be a local source directory, container image (with
docker-image://
prefix),
Git URL, HTTP URL or a name of another target in the Bake file (with
target:
prefix).
# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1
FROM alpine
RUN echo "Hello world"
# docker-bake.hcl
target "app" {
contexts = {
alpine = "docker-image://alpine:3.13"
}
}
# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1
FROM scratch AS src
FROM golang
COPY --from=src . .
# docker-bake.hcl
target "app" {
contexts = {
src = "../path/to/source"
}
}
To use a result of one target as a build context of another, specity the target
name with
target:
prefix.
# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1
FROM baseapp
RUN echo "Hello world"
# docker-bake.hcl
target "base" {
dockerfile = "baseapp.Dockerfile"
}
target "app" {
contexts = {
baseapp = "target:base"
}
}
Please note that in most cases you should just use a single multi-stage Dockerfile with multiple targets for similar behavior. This case is recommended when you have multiple Dockerfiles that canât be easily merged into one.
Bake uses the compose-spec to parse a compose file and translate each service to a target.
# docker-compose.yml
services:
webapp-dev:
build: &build-dev
dockerfile: Dockerfile.webapp
tags:
- docker.io/username/webapp:latest
cache_from:
- docker.io/username/webapp:cache
cache_to:
- docker.io/username/webapp:cache
webapp-release:
build:
<<: *build-dev
x-bake:
platforms:
- linux/amd64
- linux/arm64
db:
image: docker.io/username/db
build:
dockerfile: Dockerfile.db
$ docker buildx bake --print
{
"group": {
"default": {
"targets": [
"db",
"webapp-dev",
"webapp-release"
]
}
},
"target": {
"db": {
"context": ".",
"dockerfile": "Dockerfile.db",
"tags": [
"docker.io/username/db"
]
},
"webapp-dev": {
"context": ".",
"dockerfile": "Dockerfile.webapp",
"tags": [
"docker.io/username/webapp:latest"
],
"cache-from": [
"docker.io/username/webapp:cache"
],
"cache-to": [
"docker.io/username/webapp:cache"
]
},
"webapp-release": {
"context": ".",
"dockerfile": "Dockerfile.webapp",
"tags": [
"docker.io/username/webapp:latest"
],
"cache-from": [
"docker.io/username/webapp:cache"
],
"cache-to": [
"docker.io/username/webapp:cache"
],
"platforms": [
"linux/amd64",
"linux/arm64"
]
}
}
}
Unlike the HCL format, there are some limitations with the compose format:
inherits
service field is not supported, but you can use YAML anchors
to reference other services like the example above
.env
file
You can declare default environment variables in an environment file named
.env
. This file will be loaded from the current working directory,
where the command is executed and applied to compose definitions passed
with
-f
.
# docker-compose.yml
services:
webapp:
image: docker.io/username/webapp:${TAG:-v1.0.0}
build:
dockerfile: Dockerfile
# .env
TAG=v1.1.0
$ docker buildx bake --print
{
"group": {
"default": {
"targets": [
"webapp"
]
}
},
"target": {
"webapp": {
"context": ".",
"dockerfile": "Dockerfile",
"tags": [
"docker.io/username/webapp:v1.1.0"
]
}
}
}
Note
System environment variables take precedence over environment variables in
.env
file.
x-bake
Even if some fields are not (yet) available in the compose specification, you
can use the special extension
field
x-bake
in your compose file to evaluate extra fields:
# docker-compose.yml
services:
addon:
image: ct-addon:bar
build:
context: .
dockerfile: ./Dockerfile
args:
CT_ECR: foo
CT_TAG: bar
x-bake:
tags:
- ct-addon:foo
- ct-addon:alp
platforms:
- linux/amd64
- linux/arm64
cache-from:
- user/app:cache
- type=local,src=path/to/cache
cache-to:
- type=local,dest=path/to/cache
pull: true
aws:
image: ct-fake-aws:bar
build:
dockerfile: ./aws.Dockerfile
args:
CT_ECR: foo
CT_TAG: bar
x-bake:
secret:
- id=mysecret,src=./secret
- id=mysecret2,src=./secret2
platforms: linux/arm64
output: type=docker
no-cache: true
$ docker buildx bake --print
{
"group": {
"default": {
"targets": [
"aws",
"addon"
]
}
},
"target": {
"addon": {
"context": ".",
"dockerfile": "./Dockerfile",
"args": {
"CT_ECR": "foo",
"CT_TAG": "bar"
},
"tags": [
"ct-addon:foo",
"ct-addon:alp"
],
"cache-from": [
"user/app:cache",
"type=local,src=path/to/cache"
],
"cache-to": [
"type=local,dest=path/to/cache"
],
"platforms": [
"linux/amd64",
"linux/arm64"
],
"pull": true
},
"aws": {
"context": ".",
"dockerfile": "./aws.Dockerfile",
"args": {
"CT_ECR": "foo",
"CT_TAG": "bar"
},
"tags": [
"ct-fake-aws:bar"
],
"secret": [
"id=mysecret,src=./secret",
"id=mysecret2,src=./secret2"
],
"platforms": [
"linux/arm64"
],
"output": [
"type=docker"
],
"no-cache": true
}
}
}
Complete list of valid fields for
x-bake
:
cache-from
cache-to
contexts
no-cache
no-cache-filter
output
platforms
pull
secret
ssh
tags
Bake supports loading build definition from files, but sometimes you need even more flexibility to configure this definition.
For this use case, you can define variables inside the bake files that can be
set by the user with environment variables or by attribute definitions
in other bake files. If you wish to change a specific value for a single
invocation you can use the
--set
flag from the command line.
You can define global scope attributes in HCL/JSON and use them for code reuse and setting values for variables. This means you can do a âdata-onlyâ HCL file with the values you want to set/override and use it in the list of regular output files.
# docker-bake.hcl
variable "FOO" {
default = "abc"
}
target "app" {
args = {
v1 = "pre-${FOO}"
}
}
You can use this file directly:
$ docker buildx bake --print app
{
"group": {
"default": {
"targets": [
"app"
]
}
},
"target": {
"app": {
"context": ".",
"dockerfile": "Dockerfile",
"args": {
"v1": "pre-abc"
}
}
}
}
Or create an override configuration file:
# env.hcl
WHOAMI="myuser"
FOO="def-${WHOAMI}"
And invoke bake together with both of the files:
$ docker buildx bake -f docker-bake.hcl -f env.hcl --print app
{
"group": {
"default": {
"targets": [
"app"
]
}
},
"target": {
"app": {
"context": ".",
"dockerfile": "Dockerfile",
"args": {
"v1": "pre-def-myuser"
}
}
}
}
You can also override target configurations from the command line with the
--set
flag:
# docker-bake.hcl
target "app" {
args = {
mybuildarg = "foo"
}
}
$ docker buildx bake --set app.args.mybuildarg=bar --set app.platform=linux/arm64 app --print
{
"group": {
"default": {
"targets": [
"app"
]
}
},
"target": {
"app": {
"context": ".",
"dockerfile": "Dockerfile",
"args": {
"mybuildarg": "bar"
},
"platforms": [
"linux/arm64"
]
}
}
}
Pattern matching syntax defined in https://golang.org/pkg/path/#Match is also supported:
$ docker buildx bake --set foo*.args.mybuildarg=value # overrides build arg for all targets starting with "foo"
$ docker buildx bake --set *.platform=linux/arm64 # overrides platform for all targets
$ docker buildx bake --set foo*.no-cache # bypass caching only for targets starting with "foo"
Complete list of overridable fields:
args
cache-from
cache-to
context
dockerfile
labels
no-cache
output
platform
pull
secrets
ssh
tags
target
When multiple files are specified, one file can use variables defined in another file.
# docker-bake1.hcl
variable "FOO" {
default = upper("${BASE}def")
}
variable "BAR" {
default = "-${FOO}-"
}
target "app" {
args = {
v1 = "pre-${BAR}"
}
}
# docker-bake2.hcl
variable "BASE" {
default = "abc"
}
target "app" {
args = {
v2 = "${FOO}-post"
}
}
$ docker buildx bake -f docker-bake1.hcl -f docker-bake2.hcl --print app
{
"group": {
"default": {
"targets": [
"app"
]
}
},
"target": {
"app": {
"context": ".",
"dockerfile": "Dockerfile",
"args": {
"v1": "pre--ABCDEF-",
"v2": "ABCDEF-post"
}
}
}
}
buildx bake
supports HCL, JSON and Compose file format for defining build
groups, targets as well as variables and
functions. It looks for build definition files in the current
directory in the following order:
docker-compose.yml
docker-compose.yaml
docker-bake.json
docker-bake.override.json
docker-bake.hcl
docker-bake.override.hcl
Inside a bake file you can declare group, target and variable blocks to define project specific reusable build flows.
A target reflects a single docker build invocation with the same options that
you would specify for
docker build
:
# docker-bake.hcl
target "webapp-dev" {
dockerfile = "Dockerfile.webapp"
tags = ["docker.io/username/webapp:latest"]
}
$ docker buildx bake webapp-dev
Note
In the case of compose files, each service corresponds to a target. If compose service name contains a dot it will be replaced with an underscore.
Complete list of valid target fields available for HCL and JSON definitions:
Name | Type | Description |
---|---|---|
inherits
|
List | Inherit build options from other targets |
args
|
Map |
Set build-time variables (same as
--build-arg
flag)
|
cache-from
|
List |
External cache sources (same as
--cache-from
flag)
|
cache-to
|
List |
Cache export destinations (same as
--cache-to
flag)
|
context
|
String | Set of files located in the specified path or URL |
contexts
|
Map |
Additional build contexts (same as
--build-context
flag)
|
dockerfile
|
String |
Name of the Dockerfile (same as
--file
flag)
|
dockerfile-inline
|
String | Inline Dockerfile content |
labels
|
Map |
Set metadata for an image (same as
--label
flag)
|
no-cache
|
Bool |
Do not use cache when building the image (same as
--no-cache
flag)
|
no-cache-filter
|
List |
Do not cache specified stages (same as
--no-cache-filter
flag)
|
output
|
List |
Output destination (same as
--output
flag)
|
platforms
|
List |
Set target platforms for build (same as
--platform
flag)
|
pull
|
Bool |
Always attempt to pull all referenced images (same as
--pull
flag)
|
secret
|
List |
Secret to expose to the build (same as
--secret
flag)
|
ssh
|
List |
SSH agent socket or keys to expose to the build (same as
--ssh
flag)
|
tags
|
List |
Name and optionally a tag in the format
name:tag
(same as
--tag
flag)
|
target
|
String |
Set the target build stage to build (same as
--target
flag)
|
A group is a grouping of targets:
# docker-bake.hcl
group "build" {
targets = ["db", "webapp-dev"]
}
target "webapp-dev" {
dockerfile = "Dockerfile.webapp"
tags = ["docker.io/username/webapp:latest"]
}
target "db" {
dockerfile = "Dockerfile.db"
tags = ["docker.io/username/db"]
}
$ docker buildx bake build
Similar to how Terraform provides a way to define variables, the HCL file format also supports variable block definitions. These can be used to define variables with values provided by the current environment, or a default value when unset:
# docker-bake.hcl
variable "TAG" {
default = "latest"
}
target "webapp-dev" {
dockerfile = "Dockerfile.webapp"
tags = ["docker.io/username/webapp:${TAG}"]
}
$ docker buildx bake webapp-dev # will use the default value "latest"
$ TAG=dev docker buildx bake webapp-dev # will use the TAG environment variable value
Tip
See also the Configuring builds page for advanced usage.
A set of generally useful functions provided by go-cty are available for use in HCL files:
# docker-bake.hcl
target "webapp-dev" {
dockerfile = "Dockerfile.webapp"
tags = ["docker.io/username/webapp:latest"]
args = {
buildno = "${add(123, 1)}"
}
}
In addition, user defined functions are also supported:
# docker-bake.hcl
function "increment" {
params = [number]
result = number + 1
}
target "webapp-dev" {
dockerfile = "Dockerfile.webapp"
tags = ["docker.io/username/webapp:latest"]
args = {
buildno = "${increment(123)}"
}
}
Note
See User defined HCL functions page for more details.
BAKE_CMD_CONTEXT
can be used to access the main
context
for bake command
from a bake file that has been imported remotely.
BAKE_LOCAL_PLATFORM
returns the current platformâs default platform
specification (e.g.
linux/amd64
).
Multiple files can include the same target and final build options will be determined by merging them together:
# docker-bake.hcl
target "webapp-dev" {
dockerfile = "Dockerfile.webapp"
tags = ["docker.io/username/webapp:latest"]
}
# docker-bake2.hcl
target "webapp-dev" {
tags = ["docker.io/username/webapp:dev"]
}
$ docker buildx bake -f docker-bake.hcl -f docker-bake2.hcl webapp-dev
A group can specify its list of targets with the
targets
option. A target can
inherit build options by setting the
inherits
option to the list of targets or
groups to inherit from:
# docker-bake.hcl
target "webapp-dev" {
dockerfile = "Dockerfile.webapp"
tags = ["docker.io/username/webapp:${TAG}"]
}
target "webapp-release" {
inherits = ["webapp-dev"]
platforms = ["linux/amd64", "linux/arm64"]
}
default
target/group
When you invoke
bake
you specify what targets/groups you want to build. If no
arguments is specified, the group/target named
default
will be built:
# docker-bake.hcl
target "default" {
dockerfile = "Dockerfile.webapp"
tags = ["docker.io/username/webapp:latest"]
}
$ docker buildx bake
HCL definition file is recommended as its experience is more aligned with buildx UX and also allows better code reuse, different target groups and extended features.
# docker-bake.hcl
variable "TAG" {
default = "latest"
}
group "default" {
targets = ["db", "webapp-dev"]
}
target "webapp-dev" {
dockerfile = "Dockerfile.webapp"
tags = ["docker.io/username/webapp:${TAG}"]
}
target "webapp-release" {
inherits = ["webapp-dev"]
platforms = ["linux/amd64", "linux/arm64"]
}
target "db" {
dockerfile = "Dockerfile.db"
tags = ["docker.io/username/db"]
}
{
"variable": {
"TAG": {
"default": "latest"
}
},
"group": {
"default": {
"targets": [
"db",
"webapp-dev"
]
}
},
"target": {
"webapp-dev": {
"dockerfile": "Dockerfile.webapp",
"tags": [
"docker.io/username/webapp:${TAG}"
]
},
"webapp-release": {
"inherits": [
"webapp-dev"
],
"platforms": [
"linux/amd64",
"linux/arm64"
]
},
"db": {
"dockerfile": "Dockerfile.db",
"tags": [
"docker.io/username/db"
]
}
}
}
# docker-compose.yml
services:
webapp:
image: docker.io/username/webapp:latest
build:
dockerfile: Dockerfile.webapp
db:
image: docker.io/username/db
build:
dockerfile: Dockerfile.db
Note
See Building from Compose file page for more details.
You can also build bake files directly from a remote Git repository or HTTPS URL:
$ docker buildx bake "https://github.com/docker/cli.git#v20.10.11" --print
#1 [internal] load git source https://github.com/docker/cli.git#v20.10.11
#1 0.745 e8f1871b077b64bcb4a13334b7146492773769f7 refs/tags/v20.10.11
#1 2.022 From https://github.com/docker/cli
#1 2.022 * [new tag] v20.10.11 -> v20.10.11
#1 DONE 2.9s
{
"group": {
"default": {
"targets": [
"binary"
]
}
},
"target": {
"binary": {
"context": "https://github.com/docker/cli.git#v20.10.11",
"dockerfile": "Dockerfile",
"args": {
"BASE_VARIANT": "alpine",
"GO_STRIP": "",
"VERSION": ""
},
"target": "binary",
"platforms": [
"local"
],
"output": [
"build"
]
}
}
}
As you can see the context is fixed to
https://github.com/docker/cli.git
even if
no context is actually defined
in the definition.
If you want to access the main context for bake command from a bake file
that has been imported remotely, you can use the
BAKE_CMD_CONTEXT
built-in var.
$ cat https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tonistiigi/buildx/remote-test/docker-bake.hcl
target "default" {
context = BAKE_CMD_CONTEXT
dockerfile-inline = <<EOT
FROM alpine
WORKDIR /src
COPY . .
RUN ls -l && stop
EOT
}
$ docker buildx bake "https://github.com/tonistiigi/buildx.git#remote-test" --print
{
"target": {
"default": {
"context": ".",
"dockerfile": "Dockerfile",
"dockerfile-inline": "FROM alpine\nWORKDIR /src\nCOPY . .\nRUN ls -l \u0026\u0026 stop\n"
}
}
}
$ touch foo bar
$ docker buildx bake "https://github.com/tonistiigi/buildx.git#remote-test"
...
> [4/4] RUN ls -l && stop:
#8 0.101 total 0
#8 0.102 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 0 Jul 27 18:47 bar
#8 0.102 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 0 Jul 27 18:47 foo
#8 0.102 /bin/sh: stop: not found
$ docker buildx bake "https://github.com/tonistiigi/buildx.git#remote-test" "https://github.com/docker/cli.git#v20.10.11" --print
#1 [internal] load git source https://github.com/tonistiigi/buildx.git#remote-test
#1 0.429 577303add004dd7efeb13434d69ea030d35f7888 refs/heads/remote-test
#1 CACHED
{
"target": {
"default": {
"context": "https://github.com/docker/cli.git#v20.10.11",
"dockerfile": "Dockerfile",
"dockerfile-inline": "FROM alpine\nWORKDIR /src\nCOPY . .\nRUN ls -l \u0026\u0026 stop\n"
}
}
}
$ docker buildx bake "https://github.com/tonistiigi/buildx.git#remote-test" "https://github.com/docker/cli.git#v20.10.11"
...
> [4/4] RUN ls -l && stop:
#8 0.136 drwxrwxrwx 5 root root 4096 Jul 27 18:31 kubernetes
#8 0.136 drwxrwxrwx 3 root root 4096 Jul 27 18:31 man
#8 0.136 drwxrwxrwx 2 root root 4096 Jul 27 18:31 opts
#8 0.136 -rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1893 Jul 27 18:31 poule.yml
#8 0.136 drwxrwxrwx 7 root root 4096 Jul 27 18:31 scripts
#8 0.136 drwxrwxrwx 3 root root 4096 Jul 27 18:31 service
#8 0.136 drwxrwxrwx 2 root root 4096 Jul 27 18:31 templates
#8 0.136 drwxrwxrwx 10 root root 4096 Jul 27 18:31 vendor
#8 0.136 -rwxrwxrwx 1 root root 9620 Jul 27 18:31 vendor.conf
#8 0.136 /bin/sh: stop: not found
As shown in the File definition page,
bake
supports variable blocks which are assigned to matching environment variables
or default values:
# docker-bake.hcl
variable "TAG" {
default = "latest"
}
group "default" {
targets = ["webapp"]
}
target "webapp" {
tags = ["docker.io/username/webapp:${TAG}"]
}
alternatively, in json format:
{
"variable": {
"TAG": {
"default": "latest"
}
},
"group": {
"default": {
"targets": ["webapp"]
}
},
"target": {
"webapp": {
"tags": ["docker.io/username/webapp:${TAG}"]
}
}
}
$ docker buildx bake --print webapp
{
"group": {
"default": {
"targets": [
"webapp"
]
}
},
"target": {
"webapp": {
"context": ".",
"dockerfile": "Dockerfile",
"tags": [
"docker.io/username/webapp:latest"
]
}
}
}
$ TAG=$(git rev-parse --short HEAD) docker buildx bake --print webapp
{
"group": {
"default": {
"targets": [
"webapp"
]
}
},
"target": {
"webapp": {
"context": ".",
"dockerfile": "Dockerfile",
"tags": [
"docker.io/username/webapp:985e9e9"
]
}
}
}
add
function
You can use
go-cty
stdlib functions.
Here we are using the
add
function.
# docker-bake.hcl
variable "TAG" {
default = "latest"
}
group "default" {
targets = ["webapp"]
}
target "webapp" {
args = {
buildno = "${add(123, 1)}"
}
}
$ docker buildx bake --print webapp
{
"group": {
"default": {
"targets": [
"webapp"
]
}
},
"target": {
"webapp": {
"context": ".",
"dockerfile": "Dockerfile",
"args": {
"buildno": "124"
}
}
}
}
increment
function
It also supports user defined functions.
The following example defines a simple an
increment
function.
# docker-bake.hcl
function "increment" {
params = [number]
result = number + 1
}
group "default" {
targets = ["webapp"]
}
target "webapp" {
args = {
buildno = "${increment(123)}"
}
}
$ docker buildx bake --print webapp
{
"group": {
"default": {
"targets": [
"webapp"
]
}
},
"target": {
"webapp": {
"context": ".",
"dockerfile": "Dockerfile",
"args": {
"buildno": "124"
}
}
}
}
notequal
Here we are using the conditional
notequal
function which is just for
symmetry with the
equal
one.
# docker-bake.hcl
variable "TAG" {default="" }
group "default" {
targets = [
"webapp",
]
}
target "webapp" {
context="."
dockerfile="Dockerfile"
tags = [
"my-image:latest",
notequal("",TAG) ? "my-image:${TAG}": "",
]
}
$ docker buildx bake --print webapp
{
"group": {
"default": {
"targets": [
"webapp"
]
}
},
"target": {
"webapp": {
"context": ".",
"dockerfile": "Dockerfile",
"tags": [
"my-image:latest"
]
}
}
}
You can refer variables to other variables like the target blocks can. Stdlib functions can also be called but user functions canât at the moment.
# docker-bake.hcl
variable "REPO" {
default = "user/repo"
}
function "tag" {
params = [tag]
result = ["${REPO}:${tag}"]
}
target "webapp" {
tags = tag("v1")
}
$ docker buildx bake --print webapp
{
"group": {
"default": {
"targets": [
"webapp"
]
}
},
"target": {
"webapp": {
"context": ".",
"dockerfile": "Dockerfile",
"tags": [
"user/repo:v1"
]
}
}
}
Non-string variables are also accepted. The value passed with env is parsed into suitable type first.
# docker-bake.hcl
variable "FOO" {
default = 3
}
variable "IS_FOO" {
default = true
}
target "app" {
args = {
v1 = FOO > 5 ? "higher" : "lower"
v2 = IS_FOO ? "yes" : "no"
}
}
$ docker buildx bake --print app
{
"group": {
"default": {
"targets": [
"app"
]
}
},
"target": {
"app": {
"context": ".",
"dockerfile": "Dockerfile",
"args": {
"v1": "lower",
"v2": "yes"
}
}
}
}
This command is experimental.
The design of bake is in early stages, and we are looking for feedback from users.
Buildx also aims to provide support for high-level build concepts that go beyond invoking a single build command. We want to support building all the images in your application together and let the users define project specific reusable build flows that can then be easily invoked by anyone.
BuildKit
efficiently handles multiple concurrent build requests and de-duplicating work.
The build commands can be combined with general-purpose command runners
(for example,
make
). However, these tools generally invoke builds in sequence
and therefore cannot leverage the full potential of BuildKit parallelization,
or combine BuildKitâs output for the user. For this use case, we have added a
command called
docker buildx bake
.
The
bake
command supports building images from HCL, JSON and Compose files.
This is similar to
docker compose build
,
but allowing all the services to be built concurrently as part of a single
request. If multiple files are specified they are all read and configurations are
combined.
We recommend using HCL files as its experience is more aligned with buildx UX and also allows better code reuse, different target groups and extended features.