Unable to run commands in docker container using docker-compose

Question

EDITED - Added folder structure

I'm trying to run a node.js app in a docker container using docker-compose, however, the container fails to run the specified command and exits.

I'm running docker-for-mac, version 17.09.0-ce-mac35 (19611)

This is my folder structure:

.
├── docker-compose.yml
├── backend/
│  ├── Dockerfile
│  ├── package.json
│  ├── (source files)
├── frontend/
│  ├── Dockerfile
│  ├── package.json
│  ├── (source files)

This is my docker-compose file:

version: "3"
services: 
  ihm-backend:
    environment:
      - NODE_ENV=development
    build: ./backend
    volumes:
      - ./backend:/src
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
      - "9222:9222"
    working_dir: /src
    command:
      - "./node_modules/.bin/nodemon --watch ./ --inspect=0.0.0.0:9222 --nolazy ./app.js"

And this is my Dockerfile:

FROM node:6-alpine

COPY ./package.json src/
COPY ./npm-shrinkwrap.json src/

RUN cd /src && npm install

COPY . /src

WORKDIR /src

CMD ["./bin/www"]

Notice that the docker-compose file overrides the command.

When I run it, I get the following error:

Cannot start service ihm-backend: oci runtime error: container_linux.go:265: 
starting container process caused "exec: \"./node_modules/.bin/nodemon --watch 
./ --inspect=0.0.0.0:9222 --nolazy ./app.js\": stat ./node_modules/.bin/nodemon 
--watch ./ --inspect=0.0.0.0:9222 --nolazy ./app.js: no such file or directory"

I tried to play with the command a bit - when changing it to ls or pwd I got the expected output. However, once I try to use npm or anything from the file-system like ls ./node_modules, I get the same error. Also, if I just start the container into a shell, I'm able to run any command I want, including npm scripts

Is nodemon defined in package.json and is it installed on docker image? — RC_02
– RC_02, Commented Dec 5, 2017 at 18:32
Yes of course. I also tried running through an npm script but that didn't work either — DanielR
– DanielR, Commented Dec 5, 2017 at 18:33

DanielR · Accepted Answer · 2017-12-06 10:26:44Z

1

I found the problem. Seems like there's an issue with having spaces in the command attribute of the docker-compose file. The solution was to split it down to an array like this:

version: "3"
services: 
  ihm-backend:
    environment:
      - NODE_ENV=development
    build: ./backend
    volumes:
      - ./backend:/src
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
      - "9222:9222"
    working_dir: /src
    command:
      - /src/node_modules/.bin/nodemon
      - --watch
      - ./
      - --inspect=0.0.0.0:9222
      - --nolazy
      - ./app.js

answered Dec 6, 2017 at 10:26

DanielR

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RC_02 · Accepted Answer · 2017-12-06 03:09:17Z

0

Not sure if this helps, but this is what I use for my node app and it works .
Dockerfile

FROM node:carbon

# Create app directory
WORKDIR /usr/src/app

COPY package*.json ./

RUN npm install
RUN npm install nodemon -g

# Bundle app source
COPY . .

docker-compose

web:
  build: .
  volumes:
    - ".:/src/app"
  ports:
    - "3000:3000"
  command:
      - "nodemon"

answered Dec 6, 2017 at 3:09

RC_02

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