When I need to create a new custom Docker image, I usually start with a base image (alpine, debian, python, etc, depending on the project), running it in the interactive mode and install the tools and dependencies I will need. Once I get my container the way I want, I create a Dockerfile with all the commands I ran inside my container. It works, but I just learned that this might be unnecessary extra work.

All you need is docker commit

The process starts the same way: running a base image with interactive access and installing tools and dependencies. THEN, you run:

docker commit container_ID image_name:tag

The container ID can be found by running docker ps on a separate tab/window. And the image name and tag is whatever name and tag you want to give it.

Now, having a Dockerfile has its advantages, such as better way to keep version control, documentation and maintenance, but for prototyping or really small projects, docker commit seems to be very useful.

_The post _TIL: docker commit _was originally published at _flaviabastos.ca