Docker Guide for Shopify/Remix Apps
This guide covers how to containerize your Shopify App for consistent deployment across any VPS or cloud provider.
- Production Dockerfile (Multi-stage)
This optimized Dockerfile uses multi-stage builds to keep the final image size small (<200MB usually) and secure.
base node image
FROM node:20-alpine AS base
set for base and all layer that inherit from it
ENV NODE_ENV=production
Install all node_modules, including dev dependencies
FROM base AS deps WORKDIR /myapp ADD package.json package-lock.json ./
Or COPY package.json pnpm-lock.yaml ./ if using pnpm
RUN npm ci --include=dev
Setup production node_modules
FROM base AS production-deps WORKDIR /myapp COPY --from=deps /myapp/node_modules /myapp/node_modules ADD package.json package-lock.json ./ RUN npm prune --omit=dev
Build the app
FROM base AS build WORKDIR /myapp COPY --from=deps /myapp/node_modules /myapp/node_modules ADD . . RUN npm run build
Finally, build the production image with minimal footprint
FROM base WORKDIR /myapp COPY --from=production-deps /myapp/node_modules /myapp/node_modules COPY --from=build /myapp/build /myapp/build COPY --from=build /myapp/public /myapp/public COPY --from=build /myapp/package.json /myapp/package.json COPY --from=build /myapp/prisma /myapp/prisma
Start the server
CMD ["npm", "run", "start"]
- Local Development (docker-compose.yml)
Don't install Postgres/Redis locally on your Mac. Run them in Docker.
services: postgres: image: postgres:15-alpine restart: always environment: POSTGRES_USER: user POSTGRES_PASSWORD: password POSTGRES_DB: shopify_app ports: - "5432:5432" volumes: - db_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
redis: image: redis:7-alpine restart: always ports: - "6379:6379" command: redis-server --save 60 1 --loglevel warning
volumes: db_data:
- Important Notes for Shopify Apps
SHOPIFY_APP_URL
In production, your SHOPIFY_APP_URL must match your domain (e.g., https://app.example.com ). When running in Docker behind a proxy (like Nginx), ensure X-Forwarded-Proto headers are passed, otherwise Remix/Shopify auth might think it's HTTP and reject the session.
Port Mapping
Remix usually runs on port 3000. In Docker: EXPOSE 3000
And map it when running: docker run -p 8080:3000 my-app
Alpine Issues
If you use extensive native modules (like sharp or some crypto libs), Alpine might miss dependencies. If builds fail, switch from node:20-alpine to node:20-slim .
- Commands
Build
docker build -t my-shopify-app .
Run locally to test
docker run -p 3000:3000 --env-file .env my-shopify-app