Dockerizing a Remotion app

We recommend the following structure for your Dockerfile. Read below about the individual steps and whether you need to adjust them.

Dockerfile
docker
FROM alpine:3.17
# Install necessary packages
RUN apk update
RUN apk add --no-cache chromium-swiftshader="109.0.5414.74-r0" ffmpeg="5.1.2-r1" nodejs-current="19.3.0-r0"
# Add a user so Chrome can use the sandbox.
RUN addgroup -S remotion && adduser -S -g remotion remotion
RUN mkdir -p /out /node_modules
RUN chown -R remotion:remotion /node_modules /out
# Copy everything from your project to the docker image. Adjust if needed.
COPY package.json package*.json yarn.lock* pnpm-lock.yaml* tsconfig.json* remotion.config.* ./
COPY src ./src
COPY public ./public
# Install the right package manager and dependencies - see below for Yarn/PNPM
RUN npm i
# Run everything after as non-privileged user.
USER remotion
# Run your application
COPY render.mjs render.mjs
CMD ["node", "render.mjs"]

Dockerfile
docker
FROM alpine:3.17
# Install necessary packages
RUN apk update
RUN apk add --no-cache chromium-swiftshader="109.0.5414.74-r0" ffmpeg="5.1.2-r1" nodejs-current="19.3.0-r0"
# Add a user so Chrome can use the sandbox.
RUN addgroup -S remotion && adduser -S -g remotion remotion
RUN mkdir -p /out /node_modules
RUN chown -R remotion:remotion /node_modules /out
# Copy everything from your project to the docker image. Adjust if needed.
COPY package.json package*.json yarn.lock* pnpm-lock.yaml* tsconfig.json* remotion.config.* ./
COPY src ./src
COPY public ./public
# Install the right package manager and dependencies - see below for Yarn/PNPM
RUN npm i
# Run everything after as non-privileged user.
USER remotion
# Run your application
COPY render.mjs render.mjs
CMD ["node", "render.mjs"]

Line-by-line

1

The Alpine image is used because it is very slim by default.

docker
FROM alpine:3.17
RUN apk update

docker
FROM alpine:3.17
RUN apk update

2

The package index is updated to ensure all the libraries needed are available. Afterwards, the following packages are installed:

• chromium-swiftshader: The headless version of Chrome. swiftshader is required for WebGL, if you don't require it, you can replace chromium-switftshader with chromium.
• ffmpeg: Required for video encoding.
• nodejs-current: Node.js to run Remotion.
• npm: The package manager. If you intend to use yarn or pnpm, you can remove this line.

docker
RUN apk update
RUN apk add --no-cache \
  chromium-swiftshader="109.0.5414.74-r0" \
  ffmpeg="5.1.2-r1" \
  nodejs-current="19.3.0-r0" \
  npm="9.1.2-r0"

docker
RUN apk update
RUN apk add --no-cache \
  chromium-swiftshader="109.0.5414.74-r0" \
  ffmpeg="5.1.2-r1" \
  nodejs-current="19.3.0-r0" \
  npm="9.1.2-r0"

3

Chrome will not allow to run as root, so we create a user and group called remotion.

docker
RUN addgroup -S remotion && adduser -S -g remotion remotion
RUN mkdir -p /out /node_modules
RUN chown -R remotion:remotion /node_modules /out

docker
RUN addgroup -S remotion && adduser -S -g remotion remotion
RUN mkdir -p /out /node_modules
RUN chown -R remotion:remotion /node_modules /out

4

Copy the files from your project. If you have additional source files, add them here. If some files do not exist, remove them.

The COPY syntax allows multiple files, but at least one file must exist. It is assumed package.json, src and public exist in your project, but you can adjust this to your needs.

docker
COPY package.json package*.json yarn.lock* pnpm-lock.yaml* tsconfig.json* remotion.config.* ./
COPY src ./src
COPY public ./public

docker
COPY package.json package*.json yarn.lock* pnpm-lock.yaml* tsconfig.json* remotion.config.* ./
COPY src ./src
COPY public ./public

5

Install the right package manager and dependencies.

• If you use NPM, put the following in your Dockerfile:

  docker
  RUN npm i

  docker
  RUN npm i

• If you use Yarn or PNPM, add the packageManager field to your package.json (example: "packageManager": "pnpm@7.7.1") and remove the npm line from step 2. Then put following in your Dockerfile:

  If you use PNPM
  docker
  RUN corepack enable
  RUN pnpm i

  If you use PNPM
  docker
  RUN corepack enable
  RUN pnpm i

  If you use Yarn
  docker
  RUN corepack enable
  RUN yarn

  If you use Yarn
  docker
  RUN corepack enable
  RUN yarn

6

Run all subsequent commands as the non-privileged remotion user.

docker
USER remotion

docker
USER remotion

7

Run your code. It can be a CLI command or a Node.JS app.

docker
COPY render.mjs render.mjs
CMD ["node", "render.mjs"]

docker
COPY render.mjs render.mjs
CMD ["node", "render.mjs"]

Example script:

render.mjs
js
import { bundle } from "@remotion/bundler";
import { getCompositions, renderMedia } from "@remotion/renderer";
import { createRequire } from "node:module";
const require = createRequire(import.meta.url);
const bundled = await bundle({
  entryPoint: require.resolve("./src/index.ts"),
  // If you have a Webpack override, make sure to import it here
  webpackOverride: (config) => config,
});
const compositions = await getCompositions(bundled);
const composition = compositions[0];
console.log("Starting to render composition", composition.id);
await renderMedia({
  codec: "h264",
  composition,
  serveUrl: bundled,
  outputLocation: `out/${composition.id}.mp4`,
});
console.log(`Rendering composition ${composition.id}...`);

render.mjs
js
import { bundle } from "@remotion/bundler";
import { getCompositions, renderMedia } from "@remotion/renderer";
import { createRequire } from "node:module";
const require = createRequire(import.meta.url);
const bundled = await bundle({
  entryPoint: require.resolve("./src/index.ts"),
  // If you have a Webpack override, make sure to import it here
  webpackOverride: (config) => config,
});
const compositions = await getCompositions(bundled);
const composition = compositions[0];
console.log("Starting to render composition", composition.id);
await renderMedia({
  codec: "h264",
  composition,
  serveUrl: bundled,
  outputLocation: `out/${composition.id}.mp4`,
});
console.log(`Rendering composition ${composition.id}...`);

Building a docker image

Run

sh
docker build -t remotion-app .

sh
docker build -t remotion-app .

to build a docker image called remotion-app. Use the following command to run the image:

sh
docker run remotion-app

sh
docker run remotion-app