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Docker Image run configuration

Use this type of configuration to run a Docker container from a locally existing image that you either pulled or built previously.

Docker uses the docker run command with the following syntax:

docker run [OPTIONS] IMAGE [COMMAND] [ARG...]

You can set all the arguments for this command using the options of the Docker Image run configuration.

By default, the Docker Image configuration has the following options:

Item

Description

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, PhpStorm 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 PhpStorm stores run configuration settings in .idea/workspace.xml.

Server

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

Image ID or name

Specify the identifier or the name of the Docker image from which to create the container.

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

Move tasks in the list using the Up button and the Down button to change the order in which to perform the tasks. Select a task and click the Edit button to edit the task. Click the Remove button 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

Use the Modify options menu to add advanced options to the run configuration:

Item

Description

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 Browse 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 MySQL running on the host port 5432, and you want to run another instance of MySQL 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:

-p 5433:5432

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 Browse 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 MySQL directory on the host (/Users/Shared/mysql) to some directory inside the container (/var/lib/mysql). Mounting volumes in this manner is similar to setting the following command-line option:

-v /Users/Shared/mysql:/var/lib/mysql

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

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

--env MYSQL_USER=%env-var-value

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:

--network my-net --network-alias my-app

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.

Last modified: 25 March 2024