create-multistage-dockerfile

Build multi-stage Dockerfiles that produce minimal production images by separating build tooling from runtime.

| Compilers | gcc, g++, rustc | Not needed | | Package managers | npm, pip, cargo | Sometimes (interpreted langs) | | Dev headers | -dev packages | Not needed | | Source code | Full source tree | Only compiled output | | Test frameworks | jest, pytest | Not needed |

The core pattern: build in a fat image, copy artifacts to a slim image.

Create multi-stage Dockerfiles that separate build and runtime environments for minimal production images. Covers builder/runtime stage separation, artifact copying, scratch/distroless/alpine targets, and size comparison. Use when production images are too large, when build tools are included in the final image, when you need separate dev and prod images from one Dockerfile, or when deploying to constrained environments like edge or serverless. Source: pjt222/development-guides.