Building Smaller Images with Multi-Stage Builds

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Building Smaller Images with Multi-Stage Builds

Containers are made of layers. Compile and install operations performed in the image, add to the layers, increasing the size of the container. Instead of keeping all of those layers into the final image, you can split those steps off, and only use the finished product. Docker provides this capability through multi-stage builds. In this lab, you will build an image the usual way, and inspect the image to see how it is put together. You'll then convert the Dockerfile to use multi-stage builds, and see how the new image compares.

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Lab Info

Level

Beginner

Last updated

Sep 20, 2025

Duration

30m

Challenge

Do Prep Work in the Image
1. Inspect the current Dockerfile for the NotesApp image.
2. Build the image as notesapp and tag it as version default.
3. Inspect the default image version, to see how many layers it has, and how large the image is.
Challenge

Add a Build Stage
1. Move the install steps in the Dockerfile to a separate stage.
2. Copy the finished installs into the final image.
Challenge

Create a Smaller Image
1. Build the image as notesapp and tag it as version multistage.
2. Inspect the new multistage image version to see how many layers it has and how large the image is.

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