The Complete Guide to Docker Multi-Stage Builds for Production Node.js Apps

Docker multi-stage builds are the secret to lean, production-ready container images. This guide shows you how to structure Dockerfiles for Node.js microservices, from development dependencies to production optimization. We cover: using distinct stages for dependencies, building, and runtime; leveraging Alpine-based images; handling native modules with node-gyp; implementing health checks; and securing containers with non-root users. Each technique is demonstrated with before-and-after image size comparisons along with startup time benchmarks.