name: analyze-docker-image-size
description: Analyzes Docker image size for PHP projects. Identifies bloated layers, unnecessary packages, and provides size reduction strategies.
Docker Image Size Analysis
Analyze Docker images for PHP projects to identify bloat sources and provide size reduction strategies.
Expected Size Ranges
| Base Image |
Minimal |
Typical |
Bloated |
| php:8.4-fpm-alpine |
30-50 MB |
80-120 MB |
200+ MB |
| php:8.4-fpm (Debian) |
150-200 MB |
250-350 MB |
500+ MB |
| php:8.4-cli-alpine |
25-40 MB |
60-100 MB |
180+ MB |
Common Bloat Sources
1. Build Dependencies Not Cleaned
# BLOATED: Dev packages remain in final image
RUN apk add --no-cache $PHPIZE_DEPS icu-dev libzip-dev \
&& docker-php-ext-install intl zip
# OPTIMIZED: Remove build deps after compilation
RUN apk add --no-cache --virtual .build-deps $PHPIZE_DEPS icu-dev libzip-dev \
&& docker-php-ext-install intl zip \
&& apk del .build-deps \
&& apk add --no-cache icu-libs libzip
2. Vendor with Dev Dependencies
# BLOATED: Includes dev dependencies (+30-80MB)
RUN composer install
# OPTIMIZED: No dev dependencies, optimized autoloader
RUN composer install --no-dev --no-scripts --prefer-dist --optimize-autoloader
3. Full Debian Instead of Alpine
# BLOATED: Full Debian base (~150MB base)
FROM php:8.4-fpm
# OPTIMIZED: Alpine base (~30MB base)
FROM php:8.4-fpm-alpine
4. Package Manager Cache
# BLOATED: apt cache retained (~30-50MB)
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y libicu-dev
# OPTIMIZED: Clean apt cache in same layer
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends libicu-dev \
&& rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
5. Missing .dockerignore
.git
node_modules
vendor
tests
docs
var/cache
var/log
docker-compose*.yml
.env.local
*.md
Makefile
Size Estimation by Component
| Component |
Typical Size |
Notes |
| Alpine base |
5-8 MB |
Minimal Linux |
| Debian slim base |
70-90 MB |
More packages available |
| PHP runtime |
25-40 MB |
Core PHP binaries |
| PHP extensions (5-8) |
10-30 MB |
Depends on extensions |
| Composer vendor (no-dev) |
20-60 MB |
Depends on packages |
| Composer vendor (with-dev) |
50-150 MB |
PHPUnit, etc. |
| Application code |
1-10 MB |
Source files only |
| Build dependencies |
50-200 MB |
Must be cleaned |
Multi-Stage Build (Best Practice)
FROM php:8.4-fpm-alpine AS builder
RUN apk add --no-cache --virtual .build-deps $PHPIZE_DEPS icu-dev libzip-dev \
&& docker-php-ext-install intl zip opcache \
&& apk del .build-deps
COPY composer.json composer.lock ./
RUN composer install --no-dev --prefer-dist --optimize-autoloader
FROM php:8.4-fpm-alpine AS runtime
RUN apk add --no-cache icu-libs libzip
COPY --from=builder /usr/local/lib/php/extensions/ /usr/local/lib/php/extensions/
COPY --from=builder /usr/local/etc/php/conf.d/ /usr/local/etc/php/conf.d/
COPY --from=builder /var/www/vendor /var/www/vendor
COPY . /var/www/
Grep Patterns
# Find base images used
Grep: "^FROM " --glob "**/Dockerfile*"
# Find missing cache cleanup
Grep: "apt-get install" --glob "**/Dockerfile*"
Grep: "apk add(?!.*--no-cache)" --glob "**/Dockerfile*"
# Find composer install without --no-dev
Grep: "composer install(?!.*--no-dev)" --glob "**/Dockerfile*"
# Find COPY . (copies everything)
Grep: "^COPY \. " --glob "**/Dockerfile*"
# Check for .dockerignore
Glob: "**/.dockerignore"
# Find multi-stage builds
Grep: "^FROM.*AS " --glob "**/Dockerfile*"
Reduction Impact
| Strategy |
Size Reduction |
Effort |
| Alpine instead of Debian |
100-150 MB |
Low |
| Multi-stage build |
50-200 MB |
Medium |
| Remove build deps |
50-200 MB |
Low |
| --no-dev Composer |
30-80 MB |
Low |
| Clean apt/apk cache |
20-50 MB |
Low |
| .dockerignore |
10-500 MB |
Low |
Severity Classification
| Pattern |
Severity |
Typical Waste |
| No multi-stage, build deps remain |
Critical |
100-300 MB |
| No .dockerignore, .git copied |
Critical |
50-500 MB |
| Debian instead of Alpine (no reason) |
Major |
100-150 MB |
| Composer with dev dependencies |
Major |
30-80 MB |
| APT/APK cache not cleaned |
Minor |
20-50 MB |
Output Format
### Image Size Issue: [Category]
**Severity:** Critical/Major/Minor
**Current Size:** X MB
**Estimated Savings:** Y MB
**Layer:** Dockerfile:line
**Issue:**
[Description of the bloat source]
**Current:**
```dockerfile
// Current Dockerfile instruction
Optimized:
// Optimized Dockerfile instruction
Expected Size After Fix:
Before: X MB -> After: Z MB (saved Y MB)