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 debian:bookworm-20230411
RUN apt-get update
RUN apt show chromium
RUN apt-get install -y nodejs npm ffmpeg chromium
# 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
# If you have a public folder:
COPY public ./public
# Specify the location of the Chromium browser
ENV PUPPETEER_EXECUTABLE_PATH=/usr/bin/chromium
# Install the right package manager and dependencies - see below for Yarn/PNPM
RUN npm i
# Run your application
COPY render.mjs render.mjs
CMD ["node", "render.mjs"]

Dockerfile
docker
FROM debian:bookworm-20230411
RUN apt-get update
RUN apt show chromium
RUN apt-get install -y nodejs npm ffmpeg chromium
# 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
# If you have a public folder:
COPY public ./public
# Specify the location of the Chromium browser
ENV PUPPETEER_EXECUTABLE_PATH=/usr/bin/chromium
# Install the right package manager and dependencies - see below for Yarn/PNPM
RUN npm i
# Run your application
COPY render.mjs render.mjs
CMD ["node", "render.mjs"]

note

Click here to see an example for a render.mjs script you can use.

note

This Dockerfile is unable to render WebGL content. Suggestions on how to improve the Dockerfile to support it are welcomed.

Line-by-line

1

Specify the base image for the Dockerfile. In this case, we use Debian.

docker
FROM debian:bookworm-20230411

docker
FROM debian:bookworm-20230411

2

Update the package lists on the Debian system.

docker
RUN apt-get update

docker
RUN apt-get update

3

Download Remotion's dependencies: Node.JS (with NPM), FFmpeg and Chromium.

docker
RUN apt-get install -y nodejs npm ffmpeg chromium

docker
RUN apt-get install -y nodejs npm ffmpeg chromium

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

Tell Remotion where the Chromium executable is located.

docker
ENV PUPPETEER_EXECUTABLE_PATH=/usr/bin/chromium

docker
ENV PUPPETEER_EXECUTABLE_PATH=/usr/bin/chromium

note

If you are on Remotion v3.3.81 or higher, you don't need this line.

6

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 3. 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

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 render 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(`Rendered 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(`Rendered composition ${composition.id}.`);

Building the 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

Why are the packages not pinned?

In Debian (and also Alpine), old packages are removed from the repositories once new versions are released. This means that pinning the versions will actually cause the Dockerfiles to break in the future. We choose Debian as the distribution because the packages get well tested before they get released into the repository.

Changelog

April 15th, 2023: Unpinning the versions in Debian since it would cause breakage.

April 3rd, 2023: Changed the Alpine Docker image to a Debian one, since the versions of Alpine packages cannot be pinned. This makes the Debian one less likely to break.