How to use this image

All examples in this guide use the public image. If you’ve mirrored the repository for your own use (for example, to your Docker Hub namespace), update your commands to reference the mirrored image instead of the public one.

For example:

• Public image: dhi.io/<repository>:<tag>
• Mirrored image: <your-namespace>/dhi-<repository>:<tag>

For the examples, you must first use docker login dhi.io to authenticate to the registry to pull the images.

See the how-to work with containers and Azure Functions⁠ for more information on how to deploy function apps on Azure using docker images.

If you are testing this image on Apple Silicon (M1, M2, etc) use the following command to pull the image forcing the correct platform:

docker pull --platform linux/amd64 dhi.io/azure-functions-node:<tag>

Run a container and open a shell

For production scenarios, run the following command to run the container and open a shell. Replace <tag> with the image variant you want to run.

docker run -it --rm --entrypoint bash dhi.io/azure-functions-node:<tag>

Note that Azure Functions CLI (Azure Functions Core Tools) are unavailable in this hardened image. Follow the instructions below to create and test a basic functions app without using the CLI.

Create and test a minimal Azure Function

Create a minimal HTTP-triggered function to confirm the Azure Functions Node.js runtime is operational. First create and enter a new directory:

mkdir my-node-function-app
cd my-node-function-app

Next, manually create the following files in the new directory:

host.json

{
  "version": "2.0"
}

local.settings.json

{
  "IsEncrypted": false,
  "Values": {
    "AzureWebJobsStorage": "UseDevelopmentStorage=true",
    "FUNCTIONS_WORKER_RUNTIME": "node"
  }
}

HttpExample/function.json

{
  "bindings": [
    {
      "authLevel": "anonymous",
      "type": "httpTrigger",
      "direction": "in",
      "name": "req",
      "methods": [ "get", "post" ]
    },
    {
      "type": "http",
      "direction": "out",
      "name": "res"
    }
  ]
}

HttpExample/index.js

module.exports = async function (context, req) {
  context.log('HTTP trigger function processed a request.');
  const name = (req.query.name || (req.body && req.body.name));
  const responseMessage = name
    ? `Hello, ${name}. This HTTP triggered function executed successfully.`
    : 'This HTTP triggered function executed successfully. Pass a name in the query string or in the request body for a personalized response.';

  context.res = {
    status: 200,
    body: responseMessage
  };
};

Also create the following Dockerfile in the same directory. This extends the hardened image, copies in your function files, and starts the function host manually without dependending on the Azure Functions CLI. Replace <tag> with the image variant you want to run.

# Use the hardened Azure Functions Node image
FROM dhi.io/azure-functions-node:<tag>

# Set the working directory
WORKDIR /home/site/wwwroot

# Copy function files into the container
COPY host.json .
COPY local.settings.json .
COPY HttpExample ./HttpExample

# Expose Azure Functions default port
EXPOSE 80

# Start the function host manually
CMD ["node", "/azure-functions-host/workers/node/worker.js"]

Build and run the image (with amd64 emulation)

Since the base image only supports linux/amd64, build using the platform flag:

docker build --platform linux/amd64 -t my-azure-node-func .

Then run the container, mapping the port to your local system:

docker run --platform linux/amd64 -p 8080:80 my-azure-node-func

You should see logs similar to the following, indicating the Function Host started and the function loaded.

Hosting environment: Production
Content root path: /azure-functions-host
Now listening on: http://[::]:80
Application started. Press Ctrl+C to shut down.
info: Host.General[337]
      Host lock lease acquired by instance ID '0000000000000000000000004FCCEDD2'.

Test the function

Now that the function is running, call the function endpoint to test it.

curl "http://localhost:8080/api/HttpExample?name=Azure"

You should see the following output if everything is working correctly.

Hello, Azure. This HTTP triggered function executed successfully.

Image variants

Docker Hardened Images come in different variants depending on their intended use.

• Runtime variants are designed to run your application in production. These images are intended to be used either directly or as the FROM image in the final stage of a multi-stage build. These images typically:

  • Run as the nonroot user
  • Do not include a shell or a package manager
  • Contain only the minimal set of libraries needed to run the app

• Build-time variants typically include dev in the variant name and are intended for use in the first stage of a multi-stage Dockerfile. These images typically:

  • Run as the root user
  • Include a shell and package manager
  • Are used to build or compile applications

Migrate to a Docker Hardened Image

To migrate your application to a Docker Hardened Image, you must update your Dockerfile. At minimum, you must update the base image in your existing Dockerfile to a Docker Hardened Image. This and a few other common changes are listed in the following table of migration notes.

The following steps outline the general migration process.

1. Find hardened images for your app.

   A hardened image may have several variants. Inspect the image tags and find the image variant that meets your needs.

2. Update the base image in your Dockerfile.

   Update the base image in your application's Dockerfile to the hardened image you found in the previous step. For framework images, this is typically going to be an image tagged as dev because it has the tools needed to install packages and dependencies.

3. For multi-stage Dockerfiles, update the runtime image in your Dockerfile.

   To ensure that your final image is as minimal as possible, you should use a multi-stage build. All stages in your Dockerfile should use a hardened image. While intermediary stages will typically use images tagged as dev, your final runtime stage should use a non-dev image variant.

4. Install additional packages

   Docker Hardened Images contain minimal packages in order to reduce the potential attack surface. You may need to install additional packages in your Dockerfile. Inspect the image variants to identify which packages are already installed.

   Only images tagged as dev typically have package managers. You should use a multi-stage Dockerfile to install the packages. Install the packages in the build stage that uses a dev image. Then, if needed, copy any necessary artifacts to the runtime stage that uses a non-dev image.

   For Alpine-based images, you can use apk to install packages. For Debian-based images, you can use apt-get to install packages.

Troubleshooting migration

The following are common issues that you may encounter during migration.

General debugging

The hardened images intended for runtime don't contain a shell nor any tools for debugging. The recommended method for debugging applications built with Docker Hardened Images is to use Docker Debug⁠ to attach to these containers. Docker Debug provides a shell, common debugging tools, and lets you install other tools in an ephemeral, writable layer that only exists during the debugging session.

Permissions

By default image variants intended for runtime, run as the nonroot user. Ensure that necessary files and directories are accessible to the nonroot user. You may need to copy files to different directories or change permissions so your application running as the nonroot user can access them.

Privileged ports

Non-dev hardened images run as a nonroot user by default. As a result, applications in these images can't bind to privileged ports (below 1024) when running in Kubernetes or in Docker Engine versions older than 20.10. To avoid issues, configure your application to listen on port 1025 or higher inside the container, even if you map it to a lower port on the host. For example, docker run -p 80:8080 my-image will work because the port inside the container is 8080, and docker run -p 80:81 my-image won't work because the port inside the container is 81.

No shell

By default, image variants intended for runtime don't contain a shell. Use dev images in build stages to run shell commands and then copy any necessary artifacts into the runtime stage. In addition, use Docker Debug to debug containers with no shell.

Entry point

Docker Hardened Images may have different entry points than images such as Docker Official Images. Use docker inspect to inspect entry points for Docker Hardened Images and update your Dockerfile if necessary.