Create Docker documentation for Incubator

[JasonEb]

Overview

We need a guide to building a docker image to deploy software onto Incubator, so that when projects are ready to deploy they know how to make their own docker image.

Details

With the Incubator, software and projects are deployed via Docker images. With VRMS, CivicTechJobs, HomeUniteUs, we have a common Django infrastructure and successful docker builds working with Incubator.

Action Items

The phases in the guide-making process are listed below. Each phase displayed in blue is linked to a wiki page with instructions on how to complete that phase. Open the wiki page in a new tab, copy the instructions for each part into the section labeled 'Tasks' at the bottom of this issue, and complete each task listed.

• Gather Examples Solo (open in a new tab)
• Gather Examples Collaboratively
• Create a Guide Draft
  • If needed, create a template
• Have your guide peer reviewed
• Present your guide for leadership review

Resources/Instructions

• Collect links to Docker files + Docker-compose files for Incubator apps
  • VRMS repo
  • CivicTechJobs repo
  • HomeUniteUs repo
• Investigate Docker do's and don'ts for docker and docker-compose files
• Create Documentation for best practices on docker and docker-compose files

Related Issues

• Incubator Deployment Instructions incubator#11 and Introduce a Pre-Deployment Checklist for Incubator
• Introduce a Pre-Deployment Checklist for Incubator  incubator#25
• Document process to add new users to AWS incubator#43

tech leads for their respective projects and have deployed on incubator

• Home Unite Us: @tylerthome with
• VRMS: @spiteless

Who is involved

• Incubator
  • Incubator is managed by the DevOps community of practice
    • @sudhara has a list of all project's status on incubator
• Project's deployed on Incubator and their tech leads
  • Home Unite Us: @tylerthome with
  • VRMS: @spiteless

What to ask for

• Link to GitHub resources for project that are relevant to docker/incubator
• Link to google docs, if used
• Status (complete,making changes, new)
• Outstanding docker issues, if not listed above under Related Issues
• Deploy instructions
  • How are env variables deployed?
• How are secrets handled? Are secrets encrypted?: Not yet answered, but there is an open related issue
  • See also Create a Guide/Template: How to Create Secrets in GitHub #67
• Useful resources for info on deploying to the incubator.
• URLs for the incubator: https://github.com/hackforla/incubator
• any instructions on how to deploy to incubator, etc.: https://github.com/hackforla/incubator/wiki/Incubator-usage
• Either info on how to get credentials for incubator or how to apply for an account: https://github.com/hackforla/incubator/wiki/Onboarding-Process-for-Project-Team-Leads
• Main contributors / architects for the incubator: see Who is Involved above
• Review https://github.com/ethanstrominger/hfla-utils/blob/main/docker-compose.yml and related Docker files (dockerfile-node and dockerfile-django)

Projects to Check

Tasks

• This is where you will copy instructions from the wiki page for the step you are currently on.

[joshuayhwu]

@JasonEb [Work in Progress]

Links to Docker-Compose FIles

• VRMS
• Civic Tech Jobs
• Home Unite Us

Docker Best Practices

• Use Docker Multi-stage (1 stage for build, 1 stage for static serve)
• Minimize image size (with debian / alpine)
• Do not include environment file into Dockerfile
• Specify context when using Docker

Docker-Compose Best Practices

• List versions
• List the services provided, the context, ports
• List the client, the context, dockerfile, ports
• List nginx, dockerfiles, ports
• List the volumes

[nyarly]

Can I suggest that Hack4LA have a set of approved base images, and a policy for updating that list?

I'd also suggest that Incubator have an explicit contract about Docker and compose files, rather than merely a list of "best practices." Consider the value to Ops of each requirement you make and be able to explain it. e.g. "Base images must be from the approved list, because there's limited bandwidth for us to investigate upstream problems."

[chelseybeck]

@ethanstrominger do you think that the following issue is a subset of this issue and can be closed? or do we need to stick it in the ice box for when you are finished with this issue?

• Document setting up individual projects CI/CD pipeline to AWS Incubator using GitHub actions and Docker ops#32

[Aditya23soni]

Assignee, Labels, Project Board Placement, and Milestones for this issue in the Ops Repo:

[Aditya23soni]

@JasonEb This guide issue is moving to the knowledgebase-content repo. If you would like to maintain edit access to the issue and its associated files, please fill out the Google Drive Access Form.

[ExperimentsInHonesty]

@chelseybeck This issue is about creating a docker images and does not refer to GitHub actions. The issue hackforla/ops#32 seems to reference both. If you think a docker image created by a GHA is the way to go, I can move anything relevant from 32 to this issue.