Build Context

Definitions

1. In Docker, the set of files and directories sent to the Docker daemon when building an image — defined by the path (or URL) argument to docker build — which determines what files COPY and ADD instructions can access.

   In plain English: The folder of files that Docker can see when building an image — if you include too much, builds get slow.

   Example: "Our Docker build was slow because the build context included node_modules — adding a .dockerignore cut it from 2 GB to 50 MB."

Related Terms

• Swarm
• Container
• Deployment
• Image
• Semantic Commit
• Build Cache
• Reproducible Build
• Artifact Registry
• Mount Point
• Multi-Arch Build
• Multi-Stage Build
• Resource Limit
• Test Container
• Volume
• Volume Mount
• Moby