Dockerfiles, prebuilt images, Compose and monorepos

Dockerfile builds

Used when Build Type is Dockerfile, or Nixpacks with a root Dockerfile.

• The file must be named Dockerfile at the repository root; other paths aren't supported. The build context is the root.
• No build args are passed, and project environment variables aren't available during docker build; they're injected when the container starts.
• EXPOSE doesn't control routing. Listen on 0.0.0.0:$PORT, or set PORT to your image's port.

FROM node:20-alpine
WORKDIR /app
COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm ci --omit=dev
COPY . .
CMD ["node", "server.js"]

Deploy a prebuilt image

1. General → Deploy from Image: e.g. ghcr.io/acme/api:1.4.0 or nginx:1.27. Save, then Deploy. No clone, no build.
2. Set PORT to the image's port (e.g. PORT=80 for nginx).
3. Clear the field and Save to build from source again.

Private registries: add Registry host (ghcr.io, docker.io, your ECR or GitLab host), Username and Password or token in Settings → Registries (admins). MarvX uses the credential whose host the image reference starts with; for private Docker Hub images write docker.io/acme/api:1.0.

Prebuilt images are the answer when the build needs secrets (private packages, submodules) or more than 15 minutes: build in CI, push, deploy the image.

Docker Compose

1. General → Docker Compose: paste a docker-compose.yml, Save, Deploy. While saved, it overrides build and image settings; clear it to go back.
2. The repository isn't cloned, so give every service an image: (no local build:).
3. Project variables are written to a .env beside the file: use ${VAR} or env_file: .env.
4. Reload, Stop, Start and Logs cover the whole stack; Open Terminal and cron schedules use the first service.

Compose stacks aren't attached to MarvX domains or the *.apps.marvx.io address. They're reachable only via ports published in the file, and on MarvX-hosted servers non-web ports may not be open to the internet. For a public site or API, deploy a regular project; contact support if you need a stack exposed.

Monorepos and subfolders

There's no root-directory setting. Options:

Root Dockerfile (most predictable):

FROM node:20-alpine
WORKDIR /app
COPY apps/api/package*.json ./
RUN npm ci
COPY apps/api/ .
RUN npm run build
CMD ["npm", "start"]

Root nixpacks.toml: declare the runtime, since detection only looks at root files.

[phases.setup]
nixPkgs = ["nodejs_20"]
[phases.install]
cmds = ["cd apps/web && npm ci"]
[phases.build]
cmds = ["cd apps/web && npm run build"]
[start]
cmd = "cd apps/web && npm start"

Prebuilt image per app from CI. Create one project per app either way.