██FR█████ █INTELL███████████

Cut our Next.js Docker image by 60%+


This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Jayce Thai

Hi everyone!
Yesterday I dove deep into our infra to slim down and speed up our frontend apps (Next.js).

What I worked on

  • Upgrade Node (v22 LTS) + Linux base image (Alpine OS)
  • Multi-stage Docker build with smart caching
  • Standalone build mode in Next.js (smaller runtime)
  • Place app paths following FHS (Filesystem Hierarchy Standard) – Linux distro
  • Ensure the container doesn’t run as root

Why it matters

  • Smaller images → faster pulls/build & deploys
  • Better cache hits → shorter CI times
  • Non-root runtime → safer-by-default

Key wins

  • Image size: ~60% reduction (before/after in comments)
  • CI build time: noticeably faster
  • Cleaner, standard file layout for easier ops

If you’re doing similar work, check out:

FROM public.ecr.aws/docker/library/node:22.20.0-alpine3.22 AS deps
WORKDIR /usr/src/app
COPY package.json yarn.lock ./
RUN yarn install --frozen-lockfile --ignore-scripts

FROM public.ecr.aws/docker/library/node:22.20.0-alpine3.22 AS builder
WORKDIR /usr/src/app
COPY --from=deps /usr/src/app/node_modules ./node_modules
COPY . .
RUN if [ -f .env.template ]; then cp .env.template .env; fi
RUN yarn build

FROM public.ecr.aws/docker/library/node:22.20.0-alpine3.22 AS runner
WORKDIR /usr/src/app
ENV NODE_ENV=production
RUN addgroup -g 1001 -S nodejs && adduser -S nextjs -u 1001
COPY --from=builder --chown=nextjs:nodejs /usr/src/app/.env ./.env
COPY --from=builder --chown=nextjs:nodejs /usr/src/app/public ./public
COPY --from=builder --chown=nextjs:nodejs /usr/src/app/.next/standalone ./
COPY --from=builder --chown=nextjs:nodejs /usr/src/app/.next/static ./.next/static
USER nextjs
EXPOSE 3000
ENV PORT=3000
ENV HOSTNAME="0.0.0.0"
CMD ["node", "server.js"]


This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Jayce Thai