Dockerfile Assistant

AI-powered CLI tool that generates production-ready Dockerfiles and .dockerignore files for Python and Node.js projects.

Features

• Multi-Provider LLM Support - OpenAI, Google (Gemini), Anthropic (Claude), Groq, and Ollama (local)
• Automatic Stack Detection - Detects Python/Node.js, package managers, entry points, and ports
• Production-Ready Templates - Multi-stage builds, non-root users, health checks
• Interactive TUI - Menu-based configuration with persistent settings
• No .env Required - Configuration stored in ~/.config/dockerfile-assistant/config.json

Installation

pip install dockerfile-assistant

From Source

git clone https://github.com/giulianotesta7/dockerfile-assistant.git
cd dockerfile-assistant
pip install -e .

Usage

Navigate to your project directory and run:

cd /path/to/your/project
dockerfile-assistant

On first run, you'll see the configuration menu. Set up your provider, API key, and model before selecting a mode.

Main Menu

╭──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│            ▓▓                                                        │
│      ▒▒ ▒▒ ▒▒ ▐█▄▄█▌       Provider: Anthropic                       │
│   ░░ ░░ ░░ ░░  ▀██▀        Model: claude-sonnet-4-20250514           │
│  ▟███████████████▛         API Key: Set                              │
│  ████▄█████████▀                                                     │
│  ▜███████████▀                                                       │
│                                                                      │
│ Dockerfile Assistant                                                 │
│ Working on: ~/my-project                                             │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯

┌─ Select a mode ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ > Analyze: Reads your project to generate a matching Dockerfile      │
│   Describe: Generates a Dockerfile from your description             │
│   Config: Configure provider, API key and model                      │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Mode Comparison

Feature	Analyze	Describe
Auto-detects stack	Yes	No
Auto-detects dependencies	Yes	No
Reads project files	Yes	No
Saves files to disk	Yes	No
User provides project info	Optional	Yes

Analyze Mode

The AI automatically:

• Explores your project directory
• Detects stack from file signatures (package.json, requirements.txt, etc.)
• Finds entry points and ports from configuration
• Generates and saves Dockerfile and .dockerignore

Just ask: "Generate a Dockerfile for my project"

Note: Requires a model that supports tool/function calling. Small local models (< 30B parameters) may struggle with file exploration.

Describe Mode

Provide information about:

• Stack (Python or Node.js)
• Package manager (pip, poetry, npm, yarn, pnpm)
• Container port
• Start command

The AI generates a Dockerfile based on your description.

Configuration

All configuration is stored in ~/.config/dockerfile-assistant/config.json and managed through the TUI.

First-Time Setup

1. Run dockerfile-assistant
2. Select Config from the menu
3. Set your Provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Groq, or Ollama)
4. Set your API Key (not required for Ollama)
5. Set your Model name
6. Press Back to return to the main menu

Supported Providers

Provider	Model Examples	Documentation
openai	gpt-4o, gpt-4-turbo	OpenAI Models
anthropic	claude-sonnet-4-20250514	Anthropic Models
google	gemini-2.0-flash	Google AI Models
groq	llama-3.3-70b-versatile	Groq Models
ollama	llama3.1:8b	Run ollama list locally

Configuration File

Settings are stored in ~/.config/dockerfile-assistant/config.json:

{
  "provider": "anthropic",
  "model": "claude-sonnet-4-20250514",
  "ollama_base_url": "http://localhost:11434",
  "api_keys": {
    "openai": null,
    "anthropic": "sk-ant-...",
    "google": null,
    "groq": null
  }
}

Generated Dockerfile Features

All generated Dockerfiles include:

• Multi-stage builds for optimized image size
• Non-root user for security
• Health checks for container orchestration
• Optimized base images (python:3.12-slim, node:20-alpine)

Supported Stacks

Stack	Package Managers
Python	pip, poetry
Node.js	npm, yarn, pnpm

Requirements

• Python 3.13+
• Node.js (only required for Analyze mode - filesystem MCP features)

Security

• The AI cannot read or write .env files - access is blocked for security
• API keys are stored locally in your home directory config file
• In Analyze mode, the AI only has access to the current working directory

License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.

Author

Giuliano Testa (@giulianotesta7)

Acknowledgments

• System prompts were crafted with the assistance of Claude (Anthropic)
• Built with Pydantic AI