Reduce Node.js Docker Image Size with Multi-Stage Builds
TL;DR: Use Docker multi-stage builds to separate “build” and “production” stages in your Dockerfile. Dev dependencies and build tools stay out of the final image. In one of my projects, this cut the image size from nearly 2 GB down to under 1 GB. Why Smaller Images Matter Keeping your Docker image small has real benefits: Faster deployments — Smaller images mean faster pulls, which speeds up CI/CD pipelines and auto-scaling container startups Lower storage costs — Less registry storage (ECR, GCR, etc.) and less data transfer Reduced security risk — Fewer packages and tools in the image means a smaller attack surface The Problem: Dev Dependencies Bloat Your Image When building a Node.js app with Docker, you might write a single-stage Dockerfile like this: ...