Docker for Development: A No-Nonsense Setup

Docker in production is well-understood. Docker in development? That's where things get messy. Here's a setup that actually works.

# The Problem

Most Docker dev setups suffer from:

• Slow file syncing — changes take seconds to reflect
• No debugger — you can't attach VS Code's debugger
• Dependency hell — node_modules on Linux vs Mac volumes

# The Solution: Docker Compose + Bind Mounts

# docker-compose.yml
services:
  app:
    build:
      context: .
      dockerfile: Dockerfile.dev
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    volumes:
      - .:/app
      - /app/node_modules  # Anonymous volume for node_modules
    environment:
      - DATABASE_URL=postgresql://postgres:secret@db:5432/myapp
    depends_on:
      - db

  db:
    image: postgres:16-alpine
    ports:
      - "5432:5432"
    environment:
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: secret
      POSTGRES_DB: myapp
    volumes:
      - pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data

volumes:
  pgdata:

# The Dev Dockerfile

# Dockerfile.dev
FROM node:22-alpine

WORKDIR /app

COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm install

COPY . .

CMD ["npm", "run", "dev"]

# Key Tricks

# 1. Anonymous Volume for node_modules

The line /app/node_modules creates an anonymous volume that prevents your host's node_modules from overwriting the container's. This solves the Linux/Mac binary incompatibility issue.

# 2. Database Persistence

The named volume pgdata ensures your database survives container restarts.

# 3. Hot Reloading

Bind mounting your project directory (.:/app) means file changes are instantly visible in the container. Next.js, Vite, and similar tools will hot-reload automatically.

# Common Commands

# Start everything
docker compose up -d

# View logs
docker compose logs -f app

# Run a one-off command
docker compose exec app npx prisma migrate dev

# Tear it all down (keep data)
docker compose down

# Nuclear option (destroy data too)
docker compose down -v

This setup gives you the isolation benefits of Docker without sacrificing the development experience.