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Building Applications

To run an application in a cluster, you need an OCI image stored in the registry on the server where the SHIPOPS "registry" role is installed. OCI images are built and pushed to this registry from a server with the "builder" role.

Source Code Access​

Building requires the application source code to be in a Git repository that SHIPOPS can read. If the repository is private, you can use a PAT token to provide this access (see How to Create a PAT Token on GitHub).

Supported Build Methods​

SHIPOPS provides three build methods:

  • using Railpack;
  • using a Dockerfile;
  • using a bash script.

Building with Railpack does not require anything except, if needed, a railpack.json file for custom configuration (for details, see Configuration file reference).

Building with a Dockerfile uses an existing OCI image build file from the source code repository. This method can produce an image that is noticeably smaller than one built with Railpack if you use multi-stage builds or otherwise optimize the build. Of course, this requires the appropriate expertise. In addition, many public source code repositories already contain Dockerfiles configured for a specific application.

The most flexible method is building with a bash script.

We provide example applications for building with all three methods (see Application examples for building in SHIPOPS).