Dockerfile run configuration

Name

Specify a name for the run configuration to quickly identify it among others when editing or running.

Allow multiple instances

Allow running multiple instances of this run configuration in parallel.

By default, it is disabled, and when you start this configuration while another instance is still running, IntelliJ IDEA suggests stopping the running instance and starting another one. This is helpful when a run configuration consumes a lot of resources and there is no good reason to run multiple instances.

Store as project file

Save the file with the run configuration settings to share it with other team members. The default location is .idea/runConfigurations. However, if you do not want to share the .idea directory, you can save the configuration to any other directory within the project.

By default, it is disabled, and IntelliJ IDEA stores run configuration settings in .idea/workspace.xml.

Server

Select the Docker daemon connection to use for the run configuration.

Dockerfile

Specify the name and location of the Dockerfile used to build the image.

Image tag

Specify an optional name and tag for the built image.

This can be helpful for referring to the image in the future. If you leave the field blank, the image will have only a random unique identifier.

Container name

Specify an optional name for the container. If empty, Docker will generate a random name for the container.

This is similar to using the --name option with the docker run command.

Before launch

Specify a list of tasks to perform before starting the run configuration. For example, run another configuration, build the necessary artifacts, run some external tool or a web browser, and so on.

Click or press Alt+Insert to add one of the available tasks.

Move tasks in the list using and to change the order in which to perform the tasks. Select a task and click to edit the task. Click to remove the selected task from the list.

Show this page

Show the run configuration settings before actually starting it.

Activate tool window

Depending on the type of configuration, open the Run, Debug, or Services tool window when you start this run configuration. If this option is disabled, you can open the tool window manually:

• View | Tool Windows | Run or Alt+4

• View | Tool Windows | Debug or Alt+5

• View | Tool Windows | Services or Alt+8

Context folder

Specify a local directory that the daemon will use during the build process. All host paths in the Dockerfile will be processed relative to this directory. By default, if you leave it blank, Docker uses the same directory where the Dockerfile is located.

Build args

Specify the values for build-time variables that can be accessed like regular environment variables during the build process but do not persist in the intermediate or final images.

This is similar to using the --build-args option with the docker build command.

These variables must be defined in the Dockerfile with the ARG instruction. For example, you can define a variable for the version of the base image that you are going to use:

The PGTAG variable in this case will default to latest and the Dockerfile will produce an image with the latest available version of PostgreSQL, unless you redefine it as a build-time argument. If you set, PGTAG=9, Docker will pull postgres:9 instead, which will run a container with PostgreSQL version 9.

Redefining the PGTAG argument is similar to setting the following command-line option:

You can provide several arguments separated by spaces.

Build options

Set supported docker build options.

For example, you can specify metadata for the built image with the --label option.

Enable BuildKit

Use the BuildKit backend when building the images.

This is similar to setting the DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 environment variable when invoking the docker build command.

Randomly publish all exposed ports

Publish all exposed container ports to random free ports on the host.

This is similar to using the -P or --publish-all option on the command line.

Bind ports

Map specific container ports to specific ports on the host.

This is similar to using the -p or --publish option on the command line.

Click in the Bind ports field and specify which ports on the host should be mapped to which ports in the container. You can also provide a specific host IP from which the port should be accessible (for example, you can set it to 127.0.0.1 to make it accessible only locally, or set it to 0.0.0.0 to open it for all computers in your network).

Lets say you already have PostgreSQL running on the host port 5432, and you want to run another instance of PostgreSQL in a container and access it from the host via port 5433. Binding the host port 5433 to port 5432 in the container is similar to setting the following command-line option:

You can set this option explicitly in the Run options field instead of configuring the Bind ports field.

Entrypoint

Override the default ENTRYPOINT of the image.

This is similar to using the --entrypoint option on the command line.

Command

Override the default CMD of the image.

This is similar to adding the command as an argument for docker run.

Bind mounts

Mount files and directories on the host to a specific location in the container.

This is similar to using the -v or --volume option on the command line.

Click in the Bind mounts field and specify the host directory and the corresponding path in the container where it should be mounted. Select Read only if you want to disable writing to the container volume.

For example, you can mount a local PostgreSQL directory on the host (/Users/Shared/pg-data) to some directory inside the container (/var/lib/pgsql/data). Mounting volumes in this manner is similar to setting the following command-line option:

You can set this option explicitly in the Run options field instead of configuring the Bind mounts field.

Environment variables

Specify environment variables. There are environment variables associated with the base image that you are using as defined by the ENV instruction in the Dockerfile. There are also environment variables that Docker sets automatically for each new container. Use this field to override any of the variables or specify additional ones.

This is similar to using the -e or --env option on the command line.

Click in the Environment variables field to add names and values for variables.

For example, if you want to connect to PostgreSQL with a specific username by default (instead of the operating system name of the user running the application), you can set the PGUSER variable to the necessary value. This is similar to setting the following command-line option:

You can set this option explicitly in the Run options field instead of configuring the Environment variables field.

Run options

Set any other supported docker run options.

For example, to connect the container to the my-net network and set the my-app alias for it, specify the following:

Attach to container

Attach to the container's standard input, output, and error streams.

This is similar to using the -a or --attach option on the command line.

Show command preview

Preview the resulting command that will be used to execute the run configuration.