Skip to content

Docker Actions

Docker actions provide container operations for extracting files from Docker images.

Configuration

[[actions]]
name = "action-name"
type = "docker"
command = "extract"     # Only extract is currently implemented
image = "image:tag"     # Required
# Command-specific fields below

Commands

extract

Extract files from a Docker container image.

Status: ✅ Implemented

Required Fields:

  • image (string): Docker image name (tag can be separate or in format image:tag)
  • source (pathlib.Path): Path inside container to extract from
  • destination (ResourceUrl): Local path to extract to (typically extracted:///)

Optional Fields:

  • tag (string): Image tag (default: latest) - only used if image doesn't contain :tag

Example: 

[[actions]]
name = "extract-python-libs"
type = "docker"
command = "extract"
image = "python"
tag = "3.12-slim"
source = "/usr/local/lib/python3.12/"
destination = "extracted:///python-libs/"

Behavior:

  1. Pulls the image if not available locally (docker pull)
  2. Creates temporary container from image (docker create)
  3. Copies files from container to local filesystem (docker cp)
  4. Stores in extracted:/// directory (resolves to {working_directory}/extracted/)
  5. Automatically cleans up container (docker rm)

build

Status: ❌ Not yet implemented (raises NotImplementedError)

Build a Docker image from a Dockerfile.

Required Fields:

  • image: Image name to create
  • path: Path to Dockerfile directory (ResourceUrl)

Optional Fields:

  • tag: Image tag (default: latest)

pull

Status: ❌ Not yet implemented (raises NotImplementedError)

Pull a Docker image from registry.

Required Fields:

  • image: Image name to pull

Optional Fields:

  • tag: Image tag (default: latest)

push

Status: ❌ Not yet implemented (raises NotImplementedError)

Push a Docker image to registry.

Required Fields:

  • image: Image name to push

Optional Fields:

  • tag: Image tag (default: latest)

Common Use Cases

Extract Configuration Files

[[actions]]
name = "extract-nginx-config"
type = "docker"
command = "extract"
image = "nginx"
tag = "latest"
source = "/etc/nginx/"
destination = "extracted:///nginx-config/"

[[actions]]
name = "copy-to-repo"
type = "file"
command = "copy"
source = "extracted:///nginx-config/nginx.conf"
destination = "repository:///config/nginx.conf"

Extract Python Packages

[[actions]]
name = "extract-site-packages"
type = "docker"
command = "extract"
image = "myapp"
tag = "latest"
source = "/usr/local/lib/python3.12/site-packages/"
destination = "extracted:///packages/"

Extract Multiple Directories

[[actions]]
name = "extract-app-dir"
type = "docker"
command = "extract"
image = "myapp"
tag = "latest"
source = "/app/"
destination = "extracted:///app/"

[[actions]]
name = "extract-config-dir"
type = "docker"
command = "extract"
image = "myapp"
tag = "latest"
source = "/etc/myapp/"
destination = "extracted:///config/"

Implementation Notes

Extract Command

  • Requires Docker daemon running locally
  • Uses docker CLI commands (pull, create, cp, rm)
  • Temporary containers automatically cleaned up after extraction
  • Extracted files preserve permissions from container
  • Container name format: imbi-extract-{id}
  • Pulls image automatically if not available locally
  • Image names support Jinja2 templating: image = "{{ project_name }}"

Not Implemented Commands

The following commands are defined but not yet implemented: - build: Would build Docker images from Dockerfiles - pull: Would pull images from registry (extract does this automatically) - push: Would push images to registry

Attempting to use these commands will raise NotImplementedError.

Error Handling

  • Docker command failures raise RuntimeError with exit code and output
  • Missing Docker CLI raises helpful error: "Docker command not found - is Docker installed and in PATH?"
  • Container cleanup failures are logged but don't fail the action
  • Image pull failures propagate as RuntimeError

Integration with Other Actions

Docker Extract + File Copy Pattern

# Extract from container
[[actions]]
name = "extract-config"
type = "docker"
command = "extract"
image = "nginx"
tag = "alpine"
source = "/etc/nginx/nginx.conf"
destination = "extracted:///nginx.conf"

# Copy to repository
[[actions]]
name = "use-extracted-config"
type = "file"
command = "copy"
source = "extracted:///nginx.conf"
destination = "repository:///config/nginx.conf"

Docker Extract + Claude Analysis

# Extract application code
[[actions]]
name = "extract-app-code"
type = "docker"
command = "extract"
image = "production-app"
tag = "latest"
source = "/app/src/"
destination = "extracted:///prod-code/"

# Analyze with Claude
[[actions]]
name = "analyze-differences"
type = "claude"
prompt = "prompts/analyze-prod-vs-repo.md"
# Prompt can reference both extracted:///prod-code/ and repository:///