DEV Community

Abhay Singh Kathayat
Abhay Singh Kathayat

Posted on

Unlocking Docker BuildKit for Faster and More Secure Builds

Docker BuildKit

Docker BuildKit is an advanced feature in Docker that improves the process of building Docker images, offering performance enhancements, new features, and better integration with modern workflows. It was introduced to accelerate builds, reduce build times, and offer advanced capabilities like cache import/export, multi-stage builds, and build secrets.

BuildKit is a backend for the Docker build process, designed to improve the way Docker images are built, making it more efficient and versatile.


Key Features of Docker BuildKit

  1. Parallel Builds:

    BuildKit enables parallelization of build steps, which significantly speeds up the image-building process. Instead of waiting for each layer to build sequentially, BuildKit can execute multiple steps concurrently, reducing build times, especially for large images.

  2. Build Caching:

    BuildKit allows for more advanced caching mechanisms. It can cache build stages and reuse them across builds. This means that if nothing has changed in a specific stage, Docker can skip that stage in future builds, saving time.

  3. Better Multi-Stage Build Support:

    With BuildKit, multi-stage builds are more efficient and easier to manage. It offers advanced features like skipping unnecessary stages and improving the build cache for each individual step.

  4. Automatic Build Cache Import/Export:

    BuildKit supports importing and exporting caches from external sources like remote caches or a Docker registry, making it possible to reuse cache from other machines or environments.

  5. Advanced Dockerfile Syntax:

    BuildKit introduces new Dockerfile instructions and syntax for enhanced control and optimization during image builds. For example, you can use RUN --mount=type=secret to securely use build-time secrets.

  6. Improved Output Control:

    Docker BuildKit provides more detailed control over the build output. This includes the ability to stream build progress to a remote server, split output into separate logs for each build step, and control the verbosity of build logs.

  7. Enhanced Security:

    BuildKit also brings better security features. For example, it supports --secret and --build-arg for handling sensitive data securely during the build process. This prevents secrets from being exposed in Dockerfile layers.


How to Enable Docker BuildKit

To use Docker BuildKit, you need to enable it, as it is not enabled by default in older versions of Docker. Follow these steps:

  1. Set Environment Variable: You can enable BuildKit by setting the environment variable DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 before running Docker commands.
   export DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Or you can set this in the Docker config file.

  1. Enable in Docker Daemon: You can also enable BuildKit for all builds by editing the Docker daemon’s configuration file (/etc/docker/daemon.json).
   {
     "features": {
       "buildkit": true
     }
   }
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

After this change, restart the Docker service to apply the settings:

   sudo systemctl restart docker
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

How to Use Docker BuildKit

Once BuildKit is enabled, you can start using it for building images. Here are the common commands and options you’ll use with Docker BuildKit.

1. Building an Image with BuildKit

Use the docker build command to build an image with Docker BuildKit enabled.

DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker build -t my-image .
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

You can specify additional BuildKit options here, such as enabling advanced build features or passing build-time arguments and secrets.

2. Multi-Stage Build Example

With BuildKit, multi-stage builds become more efficient and cleaner. Here's an example of a Dockerfile using BuildKit's features:

# Use BuildKit's cache imports and build secrets
# Stage 1: Build the app
FROM golang:1.17 AS build-stage

WORKDIR /app
COPY . .

RUN --mount=type=secret,id=mysecretfile \
    go build -o myapp .

# Stage 2: Create a smaller image for production
FROM alpine:latest

WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=build-stage /app/myapp /app/

CMD ["./myapp"]
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

In this example, --mount=type=secret allows BuildKit to securely inject build secrets like API keys or passwords during the build process, and --from=build-stage enables copying the built binary into the final image, making the image smaller.

3. Using Build Caches

BuildKit can automatically cache build layers to speed up the build process.

DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker build --cache-from=my-cache-image -t my-image .
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

This command allows Docker to use the cache from a previously built image (my-cache-image), speeding up the build process by skipping layers that haven't changed.


BuildKit vs Docker Build (Classic)

Docker BuildKit is an improvement over the traditional Docker build process (docker build). Here's a comparison:

Feature Docker Build (Classic) Docker BuildKit
Parallel Builds No Yes
Build Caching Limited Advanced (cache import/export, layer caching)
Build Output Control Basic Advanced (detailed logs, streaming)
Dockerfile Syntax Basic Advanced (e.g., RUN --mount=type=secret)
Security Basic Enhanced (secrets handling)
Multi-Stage Build Support Supported but inefficient Optimized and faster
Performance Slower, sequential builds Faster due to caching and parallelization

Benefits of Using Docker BuildKit

  1. Faster Builds:

    With parallel builds and optimized caching mechanisms, Docker BuildKit can significantly reduce the time it takes to build images, especially for larger projects with complex Dockerfiles.

  2. Efficient Use of Resources:

    BuildKit allows for more efficient use of system resources, as it can skip unnecessary rebuilds and avoid wasting time rebuilding layers that haven't changed.

  3. Better Security:

    Docker BuildKit enables secure handling of build-time secrets, preventing sensitive data from being exposed in image layers.

  4. Improved Multi-Stage Builds:

    BuildKit optimizes the way multi-stage builds are executed, making it easier to manage and improve performance.

  5. Customizable Output:

    Docker BuildKit provides advanced control over the build output, allowing you to control verbosity and structure of logs, which is especially helpful in CI/CD pipelines.


Conclusion

Docker BuildKit is a powerful feature that enhances the Docker build process, offering improved performance, security, and flexibility. By supporting parallel builds, advanced caching, and better integration with modern workflows, BuildKit makes Docker image builds faster, more secure, and easier to manage. With support for multi-architecture builds, Docker BuildKit is an essential tool for modern containerization needs, especially for organizations that need to scale and optimize their container workflows.


Image of Datadog

The Essential Toolkit for Front-end Developers

Take a user-centric approach to front-end monitoring that evolves alongside increasingly complex frameworks and single-page applications.

Get The Kit

Top comments (0)

AWS Security LIVE!

Tune in for AWS Security LIVE!

Join AWS Security LIVE! for expert insights and actionable tips to protect your organization and keep security teams prepared.

Learn More