Added Docker-based Development & Production Environment Setup

[ronakmaheshwari]

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PR: Add Docker-based Development & Production Environment Setup

Overview

This PR introduces a complete Docker environment for local development and production, allowing contributors to easily set up and run the project without manual dependency configuration.

It resolves Issue #51 – “Docker Environment for contribution” by providing:

• Dockerfile.dev → development with live reload (nodemon + ts-node)

• Dockerfile → production-ready image build

• docker-compose.dev.yml → quick developer setup

• docker-compose.prod.yml (optional, for deployment)

• .env.example and environment variable support

• TypeScript & Express type fixes

• Updated package.json scripts (build/start/dev)

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Changes

File	Description
server/Dockerfile.dev	Dev container using nodemon and ts-node
server/Dockerfile	Production Docker image using tsc build
server/docker-compose.dev.yml	Dev setup with live reload & volume mounts
server/docker-compose.prod.yml	(Optional) Production compose
server/.env.example	Example environment file
server/tsconfig.json	Added skipLibCheck to resolve Express type mismatch
server/package.json	Added dev, start, and updated build scripts

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Benefits

Simplifies onboarding for new contributors
Ensures consistent development environment
Supports live code updates with nodemon
Clean separation between development & production
Compatible with existing project structure & configuration
Prevents TypeScript infinite build loop and Express type errors

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Installation & Usage

1. Development Environment

cd server
cp .env.example .env
docker compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml up --build

Then open:

• http://localhost:10080 → main

• http://localhost:10081 → demo

Live reload is enabled via nodemon.

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2. Production Build

docker compose -f docker-compose.prod.yml up --build -d

OR manual build:

docker build -t supercookie-prod -f Dockerfile .
docker run -p 10080:10080 -p 10081:10081 supercookie-prod

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TypeScript build

npm run build

Run normally

npm run start

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Notes

• Uses Node 20 Alpine (recommended LTS instead of Node 22)

• skipLibCheck added to avoid breaking Express typings

• Volume mounting prevents conflicts between host and container node_modules

• Supports both .env and .env.localhost

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Checklist

• Docker environment added

• Dev & prod builds verified locally

• TypeScript build successful

• No breaking changes to existing codebase

• Linked to issue Docker Environment for contribution  #51

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Related Issue

Closes #51

[jonasstrehle]

Thanks for your contribution, looks good to me so far, I will double check and merge later this week.

[ronakmaheshwari]

@jonasstrehle any updates

[codeCraft-Ritik]

Opting for Node 20 Alpine is a great choice for keeping image sizes small and sticking to the LTS. However, for the production Dockerfile, are you using a multi-stage build? This would allow you to compile the TypeScript code in a "build" stage and only copy the compiled /dist and production node_modules to the final image, further reducing the attack surface and image size.