/dockerized-fullstack-application

A modern full-stack application template showcasing containerization with Docker, featuring Node.js, Express.js, and MongoDB for building and deploying scalable web applications.

Primary LanguageEJS

Dockerized Fullstack Application

Overview

This repository hosts a Dockerized Full-Stack Application built with Node.js, Express, and MongoDB. The project aims to provide a convenient development environment encapsulated within Docker containers. It simplifies the setup and running of a local version of your application.

Why Use Docker?

Benefits of Docker

  • Isolation: Docker containers encapsulate your application and its dependencies, ensuring consistency and preventing conflicts between development and production environments.

  • Portability: Docker containers can run on various platforms without modification, making it easy to move applications between different environments.

  • Efficiency: Docker containers are lightweight and start quickly, reducing resource overhead and speeding up development and deployment processes.

  • Scalability: Docker facilitates the scaling of applications by creating multiple containers from a single image, making it suitable for both small projects and large-scale applications.

  • Dependency Management: Docker enables you to define dependencies and configurations within a Dockerfile, ensuring that your application runs consistently across different environments.

Key Features

  • Full-Stack Application: This project demonstrates the development of a full-stack web application, including the backend (Node.js) and frontend (EJS templates).

  • Database Integration: MongoDB is used as the database to store application data, and it is containerized using Docker for easy setup.

  • Docker Compose: Docker Compose simplifies multi-container Docker application orchestration, making it effortless to manage both the application and database containers together.

Directory Structure

.
├── app
│   ├── Dockerfile
│   ├── index.js
│   ├── models
│   │   └── Item.js
│   ├── node_modules
│   ├── package.json
│   └── views
│       └── index.ejs
├── docker-compose.yml
└── README.md

Key Directories and Files

  • app/: Contains the Node.js application code.

    • Dockerfile: Defines the Docker image for the Node.js application.
    • index.js: Main application file.
    • models/: Houses application data models.
    • node_modules/: Holds Node.js dependencies.
    • package.json: Specifies Node.js application configuration.
    • views/: Stores application views.

  • docker-compose.yml: Specifies Docker services and their interactions.

  • README.md: The file you are currently reading.

Note: The node_modules directory is intentionally not included in the repository. It is generated locally when you install project dependencies using npm install. This omission keeps the repository size smaller and avoids adding a large number of third-party library files to version control. The package.json file specifies the project's dependencies, giving you a general idea of what the node_modules directory will contain and where to find it.

Docker Compose Configuration

The docker-compose.yml file defines two Docker services:

1. app

  • Dockerizes the Node.js application.
  • Exposes port 3000 for accessing the application.
  • Links to the mongo service for database connectivity.
  • Mounts the application code and node_modules for development.

2. mongo

  • Utilizes the official MongoDB Docker image.
  • Exposes port 27017 for MongoDB access.

Getting Started

To set up and run the Dockerized Full-Stack Application:

  1. Ensure Docker and Docker Compose are installed on your system.
  2. Clone this repository to your local machine.
  3. Navigate to the project directory. 
    cd dockerized-fullstack-application
  4. Build and start the application using Docker Compose. 
    docker-compose up --build
  5. Access the application in your web browser at http://localhost:3000.
  6. To shut down the application and clean up Docker resources when you're done:
  • Press Ctrl+C in the terminal where Docker Compose is running to stop the containers.
  • To remove the stopped containers, networks, and volumes associated with this project, run: 
    docker-compose down
  • Additionally, you can remove any unused Docker resources (e.g., dangling images, containers, and networks) by running: 
    docker system prune -a
  • These commands will help you gracefully shut down the application and free up any unused Docker resources.

Dependencies

The project relies on the following key dependencies:

  • Express: Web framework for Node.js.
  • Mongoose: MongoDB object modeling tool.
  • EJS: Embedded JavaScript templates.
  • Body Parser: Middleware for parsing HTTP request bodies.

Thank you!