I started to learn about Docker[1] and how to use it. Docker let you run an application inside a container. This container pretends to be an operating system, but it uses the kernel shared by the host running docker. It’s a kind of light virtualization.
Here at Hacklab, we start our WordPress projects by copying the WordPress source code to a git repository and after, we create our themes and plugins. It’s horrible, I know, but everybody here knows how to do their jobs if we play in this way.
But now, with Docker, I can imagine a different way to work. I did a test forking[2] official WordPress[3] docker and making possible to mount my stuff inside wp-content. It works nicely! I can have different containers with different WordPress version to test my themes and plugins.
To work in this way, it’s necessary to have docker software and a container running mysql or mariadb.
Getting the images
The command to get docker images from docker hub is docker pull. Docker images lives on a registry, like hub.docker.com. But it’s possible to host own docker registry.
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$ docker pull mariadb $ docker pull montefuscolo/wordpress |
Create and run a MariaDB container
The command to create and run containers from images is docker run. It’s necessary run a database like MariaDB before run WordPress. The MariaDB[4] instructions at docker hub has more detailed options for example below.
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docker run --name mariadb \ -e MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=topsecretpassword \ -p 3306:3306 \ -i \ mariadb |
| Parameter | Meaning |
|---|---|
--name mariadb |
will be the container name |
-e MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=topsecretpassword |
define variable that stores root password |
-p 3306:3306 |
forward port 3306 on host to port 3306 on container |
-i |
interactive, do not dettach from shell |
mariadb |
the name of image pulled from docker hub |
Create and run a WordPress container
The example below refers to project called Awesome Site. A wordpress container will be created and linked with mariadb running container.
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$ docker run --name awesomesite \ --link mariadb:mysql \ -e WORDPRESS_DB_USER=awesomeuser \ -e WORDPRESS_DB_NAME=awesomedbname \ -e WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD=awesomepassword \ -e WORDPRESS_WP_DEBUG=true \ -v $PWD/src/wp-content:/var/www/html/wp-content \ -p 80:80 \ -i \ montefuscolo/wordpress |
| Parameter | Meaning |
|---|---|
--name awesomesite |
will be the container name |
--link mariadb:mysql |
link containers, but wordpress will call mariadb of mysql |
-e WORDPRESS_DB_USER=awesomeuser |
database user that will be inserted on wp-config.php |
-e WORDPRESS_DB_NAME=awesomedbname |
database name that will be inserted on wp-config.php |
-e WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD=awesomepassword |
database password that will be inserted on wp-config.php |
-e WORDPRESS_WP_DEBUG=true |
turns WP_DEBUG=true and disables opcache |
-v $PWD/src/wp-content:/var/www/html/wp-content |
will mount host folder over container folder |
-p 80:80 |
forward port 80 on host to port 80 on container |
-i |
interactive, do not dettach from shell |
montefuscolo/wordpress |
the name of image pulled from docker hub |
Now is possible to access a WordPress site at http://localhost on your web browser. You can also modify your content on you favorite editor and refresh browser to see modifications.
References
1 – https://www.docker.com/
2 – https://hub.docker.com/montefuscolo/wordpress/
3 – https://hub.docker.com/_/wordpress/
4 – https://hub.docker.com/_/mariadb/