Docker toolchain

Sample Dockerfile

To help you get started with Docker development in CLion, we created an example Dockerfile for the case of Ubuntu base image. You can copy this file to your project and adjust for your needs or just use it as a reference.

The example file includes the following lines and sections:

• In the comments at the top, you can find the commands for building the container.

• The FROM ubuntu:20.04 line refers to the container's base image.

• The apt-get part installs all the toolchain dependencies into the container. Here you can adjust the tools and their versions.

tip

On macOS and Linux, CLion uses the host UID due to file permission limitations when writing to volumes from Docker containers.

As a workaround, you can create a parametrized user in the Dockerfile, for example:

ARG UID=1000
RUN useradd -m -u ${UID} -s /bin/bash builder
USER builder

And then build the image with the new UID:

docker build --build-arg UID=$(id -u) ...

Build the container

tip

Another option is to use a pre-built container from docker registry.

• Run the docker build command from the top of the Dockerfile:

  docker build -t clion/ubuntu/cpp-env:1.0 -f Dockerfile.cpp-env-ubuntu .

  Depending on your platform and your Docker setup, you may need to run it using sudo.

  This command will build the Ubuntu base image with proper toolchain dependencies.

Create a Docker toolchain

1. Go to Settings / Preferences | Build, Execution, Deployment | Toolchains.

   Click and select Docker:

   

2. Click the screw nut icon next to the Docker field to add a Docker image:

   

   note

   Out of the options listed in Connect to Docker daemon with, only the local one (first) is currently supported in CLion.

   You can also configure a Docker server in Settings / Preferences | Build, Execution, Deployment | Docker and then select it in the toolchain settings.

3. Select the Docker Image and wait until the tools detection finishes. Then save the settings.

   

tip

See Docker plugin integration for description of the Services tool window and Docker-specific IDE actions.

Build, run, debug with a Docker toolchain

After configuring a Docker toolchain, you can select it in CMake profiles or in Makefile settings. Alternatively, move the toolchain to the top of the list to make it default.

The project folder will mounted to the Docker container and building, running, and debugging will be performed in it. CLion will start the container and shut it down after the command is executed. The project folder will be mounted into the /tmp/ProjectFolder directory in the container.

Improve Docker toolchain performance on Windows

To get better performance on Windows, we recommend using Docker with the WSL 2 backend.

1. Set up Docker Desktop with the WSL 2 backend.

2. In the Docker desktop application, navigate to Settings | Resources | WSL Integration and enable integration with your WSL distribution (for example, ubuntu-20.04).

3. Place the project sources into the WSL filesystem (for example, \\wsl$\ubuntu-20.04\tmp\llvm), then open it in CLion and configure a Docker toolchain.