Running Serenity/Serene/StartSharp on Docker in .NET 8

[edwardch]

Hi Serenity community!

Firstly want to say thank you to the Serenity team for all the hard work on upgrading Serenity to .NET 6 and now .NET 8!

I had an app running on Docker in .NET 6, and have now managed to get my app running in Docker with .NET 8.
(With the help from @VictorTomaili)

For those who want to run their app in Docker, here are some steps.

Add Docker support

Right click on your project then Add > Docker Support...
This will create a Dockerfile.

Modify Dockerfile

To get it working (the way I needed, at least), I updated the contents of this file to the following:

# I'm using some custom packages in the base image, which you can remove as you please
# fontconfig is installed because I want custom fonts for a third-party reporting tool
# Note that I use `fc-cache` (see comment at the end)
# lib* packages are related to exporting Excel and exporting custom reports mentioned above
# .NET 8 has change the default port to 8080
# See: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/core/compatibility/containers/8.0/aspnet-port
# .Net 6 used 80, so if you are _upgrading_ to .NET 8, make sure to EXPOSE 8080

FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/aspnet:8.0-bookworm-slim AS base
RUN apt-get update \
    && apt-get install -y --allow-unauthenticated \
        fontconfig \
        libc6-dev \
        libgdiplus \
        libx11-dev \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
WORKDIR /app
EXPOSE 8080

# nodejs no longer uses https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_18.x method
# If anyone has a simpler method than below, please let me know
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:8.0-bookworm-slim AS build
RUN apt-get update -yq \
    && apt-get upgrade -yq \
    && apt-get install -yq curl git nano ca-certificates gnupg \
    && mkdir -p /etc/apt/keyrings \
    && curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/gpgkey/nodesource-repo.gpg.key \
     | gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/nodesource.gpg \
    && NODE_MAJOR=18 \
    && echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/nodesource.gpg] https://deb.nodesource.com/node_$NODE_MAJOR.x nodistro main" \
     > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nodesource.list \
    && apt-get update \
    && apt-get install nodejs -y
RUN npm install -g npm

# I use a custom NuGet.config file, hence my COPY and then --configfile usages
# Leave them out if you don't need them
WORKDIR /src
COPY ["NuGet.config", "."]
COPY ["MyApp/MyApp.Web/MyApp.Web.csproj", "MyApp/MyApp.Web/"]
RUN dotnet restore --configfile NuGet.config  "MyApp/MyApp.Web/MyApp.Web.csproj"
COPY . .
WORKDIR "/src/MyApp/MyApp.Web"
RUN dotnet build "MyApp.Web.csproj" -c Release -o /app/build

FROM build AS publish
RUN dotnet publish "MyApp.Web.csproj" -c Release -o /app/publish

FROM base AS final
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=publish /app/publish .
ENTRYPOINT ["dotnet", "MyApp.Web.dll"]
# If you want to mount custom fonts to /usr/share/fonts/truetype
# Replace above line with
# ENTRYPOINT fc-cache -f -v && dotnet MyApp.Web.dll

Override appsettings (optional)

Then add a file next to appsettings.json, called appsettings.Docker.json
In this file you can override your settings, in my case it was to update connection strings accordingly to connect to a local or cloud based database.

Run

Change your app to start Docker instead of IIS or Kestrel (whatever your choice), then hit run.

And that's it.

[heleopless50]

thanks so much for sharing
can you explain what is the benefit of using docker over using kestrel or iis ?

[edwardch]

Could be for many reasons, as with software it always "depends", but here's an already made answer for you: https://stackify.com/10-reasons-to-use-docker-with-asp-net/

HTH!

[minhhungit]

Thanks for sharing @edwardch, btw this is what I used before, hope it will give people more choices

docker file

FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/aspnet:6.0 AS base
WORKDIR /app
EXPOSE 80

FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:6.0 AS build

RUN apt-get update
RUN apt-get install -y curl
RUN apt-get install -y libpng-dev libjpeg-dev curl libxi6 build-essential libgl1-mesa-glx
RUN curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_lts.x | bash -
RUN apt-get install -y nodejs

WORKDIR /src
COPY ["ContainerDemo/ContainerDemo.Web/ContainerDemo.Web.csproj", "ContainerDemo/ContainerDemo.Web/"]
COPY ["ContainerDemo/ContainerDemo.Web/nuget.config", "ContainerDemo/ContainerDemo.Web/"]
RUN dotnet restore "ContainerDemo/ContainerDemo.Web/ContainerDemo.Web.csproj"
COPY . .

WORKDIR "/src/ContainerDemo/ContainerDemo.Web"
RUN dotnet build "ContainerDemo.Web.csproj" -c Release -o /app/build

FROM build AS publish
RUN dotnet publish "ContainerDemo.Web.csproj" -c Release -o /app/publish /p:UseAppHost=false

FROM base AS final
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=publish /app/publish .
ENTRYPOINT ["dotnet", "ContainerDemo.Web.dll"]

---

nuget.config file

Nuget.config file

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<configuration>
  <packageSources>
    <add key="public" value="https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json" />
    <add key="customfeed" value="https://packages………/v3/index.json"  /> 
  </packageSources>

  <packageSourceCredentials>
    <customfeed>
      <add key="Username" value="enter_your_username" />
      <add key="ClearTextPassword" value="enter_your_raw_password" />
    </customfeed>
  </packageSourceCredentials>
</configuration>

---

Database connection string

"Data": {
    "Default": {
      "ConnectionString": "Server=host.docker.internal\\MSSQLSERVER,1433;Database=ContainerDemo_Default_v1;User Id=jin;Password=adminp;Encrypt=false;TrustServerCertificate=true",
      "ProviderName": "System.Data.SqlClient"
    },
    "Northwind": {
      "ConnectionString": "Server=host.docker.internal\\MSSQLSERVER,1433;Database=ContainerDemo_Northwind_v1;User Id=jin;Password=adminp;Encrypt=false;TrustServerCertificate=true",
      "ProviderName": "System.Data.SqlClient"
    }
  },

[edwardch]

Nice, thanks @minhhungit

Btw nodejs has seems to have moved on from install method. I used in in Azure before, and it no longer works, hence my key method.

And (from what I've read/understand) it's typically preferred to group install commands into a single RUN command, since each RUN creates a new layer.

Thanks for the additional nuget and config info!

[minhhungit]

yeah the file above is for old serenity .net 6 version

[edwardch]

@minhhungit BTW it looks like nodesource have reverted the install method

https://github.com/nodesource/distributions#new-update-%EF%B8%8F

• Installation Scripts: Back by popular demand, the installation scripts have returned and are better than ever. See the installation instructions below for details on how to use them.

nodesource/distributions@55fa99e

[heleopless50]

can you provide the docker compose file to connect the docker file to mssql server in vps linux server ?

[edwardch]

Try something like this

version: '3.4'

services:
  app:
    image: myapp/app
    build:
        context: .
        dockerfile: /MyApp/MyApp.Web/Dockerfile
    environment:
      - Data__Default__ConnectionString=Server=${DATABASE_SERVER};Database=${DATABASE_NAME};User Id=sa;Password=${DATABASE_PASSWORD};
      - Data__MyApp__ConnectionString=Server=${DATABASE_SERVER};Database=${DATABASE_NAME};User Id=sa;Password=${DATABASE_PASSWORD};
    ports:
      - "${APP_PORT}:80"
    volumes:
      - ./MyApp/MyApp.Web/App_Data:/app/App_Data
      - ./MyApp/MyApp.Web/App_Data/upload/fonts:/usr/share/fonts/truetype
    depends_on:
      - sqldata
  sqldata:
    image: mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2022-latest
    environment:
      - SA_PASSWORD=${DATABASE_PASSWORD}
      - ACCEPT_EULA=Y
      - MSSQL_PID=Express
    ports:
      - "5434:1433"
    volumes:
      - ./.data:/var/opt/mssql/data
    restart: "on-failure"

[Julian1993ARG]

when i run the docker file give me this error

System.InvalidOperationException: 'Failed to start 'npm'. To resolve this:.
Ensure that 'npm' is installed and can be found in one of the PATH directories.
    Current PATH enviroment variable is: /usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin

Can someone help me?

[Julian1993ARG]

This is my dockerFile

FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/aspnet:6.0 AS base
WORKDIR /app
EXPOSE 8015

FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:6.0 AS build
RUN apt-get update -yq && \
    apt-get upgrade -yq \
    && apt-get install -yq curl git nano
RUN curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_18.x | bash - && apt-get install -yq nodejs 
RUN npm install -g npm

WORKDIR /src

ARG BUILD_CONFIGURATION=Release
WORKDIR /src
COPY ["Example/Example.Web/Example.Web.csproj", "Example/Example.Web/"]
RUN dotnet restore "./Example/Example.Web/Example.Web.csproj"
COPY . .

WORKDIR "/src/Example/Example.Web"
RUN dotnet build "./Example.Web.csproj" -c $BUILD_CONFIGURATION -o /app/build

FROM build AS publish
ARG BUILD_CONFIGURATION=Release
RUN dotnet publish "./Example.Web.csproj" -c $BUILD_CONFIGURATION -o /app/publish /p:UseAppHost=false

FROM base AS final
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=publish /app/publish .
ENTRYPOINT ["dotnet", "Example.Web.dll"]

Where i can move npm?

[edwardch]

Hmm it looks ok.
Not to sure here to be honest, do you know where it's failing? Build or final?

[Julian1993ARG]

In on Final, this is the error

Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting.Diagnostics[6]
      Application startup exception
      System.InvalidOperationException: Failed to start 'npm'. To resolve this:.
      
      [1] Ensure that 'npm' is installed and can be found in one of the PATH directories.
          Current PATH enviroment variable is: /usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin
          Make sure the executable is in one of those directories, or update your PATH.
      
      [2] See the InnerException for further details of the cause.
       ---> System.ComponentModel.Win32Exception (2): An error occurred trying to start process 'npm' with working directory '/app'. No such file or directory

The error is copy from docker console, and fail this serentiy method

public static class NodeScriptRunnerExtensions
{
    private const string LogCategoryName = "Serenity.Web.NodeScriptRunner";
    public static void StartNodeScript(this IApplicationBuilder appBuilder, string scriptName, 
        string arguments = null, string workingDirectory = null, 
        IDictionary<string, string> envVars = null, string pkgManagerCommand = "npm")
    {
        var applicationStoppingToken = appBuilder.ApplicationServices
            .GetRequiredService<IHostApplicationLifetime>().ApplicationStopping;
        var logger = LoggerFinder.GetOrCreateLogger(appBuilder, LogCategoryName);
        var diagnosticSource = appBuilder.ApplicationServices.GetRequiredService<DiagnosticSource>();
        workingDirectory ??= appBuilder.ApplicationServices.GetRequiredService<IWebHostEnvironment>().ContentRootPath;

        new NodeScriptRunner(scriptName, arguments, workingDirectory, envVars, pkgManagerCommand,
            diagnosticSource, applicationStoppingToken)
                .AttachToLogger(logger);
    }
}```

[VictorTomaili]

In your appsettings.json or appsettings.Development.json you have StartNodeScripts which tries to run npm while application run to build typescript on development time. You need to delete StartNodeScripts in your production environment or docker container.

[Julian1993ARG]

I commented out this line, and now the container is working fine.
Thanks!

{
  "ClamAV": {
    "Enabled": false
  },
  "DetailedErrors": true,
  "Logging": {
    "LogLevel": {
      "Serenity.Data": "Debug"
    }
  },
  //"StartNodeScripts": "tsbuild:watch"
}