dockerignore in Docker

From the Docker cheat sheet · Dockerfile · verified Jul 2026

Exclude files from the build context to speed up builds and avoid leaking secrets

bash

# .dockerignore
node_modules
.git
.env
*.md
dist
.DS_Store

💡 Without .dockerignore, Docker sends EVERYTHING in the directory to the build daemon

⚡ Always ignore node_modules — they get reinstalled with npm ci inside the image

📌 Ignore .env files to prevent secrets from being baked into the image

🟢 Same syntax as .gitignore — supports wildcards, negation (!important.md), and comments

dockerignorebuildsecurity

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