docker-uv-image-builds

name	docker-uv-image-builds
description	Build Docker images for Python services following team conventions. Use this skill when writing Dockerfiles, authoring CI image build pipelines, or adding a new service — covers mitodl image naming, git short-ref tags, relocatable uv venvs, and shared library handling.
license	BSD-3-Clause
metadata	{"category":"containers"}

Docker Image Builds for Python Services

Image naming

Images follow the pattern: mitodl/<service-name>

The service name should match the application or code location name used elsewhere in configuration (Helm values, Pulumi stacks, Concourse pipelines).

Image tags

Tag images with the git short ref (7-character SHA):

GIT_TAG=$(git rev-parse --short HEAD)
docker build -t mitodl/${SERVICE_NAME}:${GIT_TAG} .

Do not use latest as a production tag.

Python environment inside the image

Use a relocatable virtual environment so the venv works after Docker layer assembly:

WORKDIR /app
COPY pyproject.toml uv.lock ./
RUN uv venv --relocatable /app/.venv && \
    uv sync --frozen --no-dev

Shared libraries

Install shared internal libraries (e.g. ol-orchestrate-lib) as build-time dependencies — do not mount them as Docker volumes at runtime. Add them to pyproject.toml and let uv sync install them during the image build.

Build context & .dockerignore

Exclude development artifacts:

.venv/
__pycache__/
*.pyc
.git/

Concourse CI integration

Concourse pipelines use paths: filters on git resources to trigger image rebuilds only when relevant files change. When adding a new service, add its path to the corresponding pipeline's git resource paths list.