Learn how to build a Docker image with AWS CDK and push it to ECR. Our Docker Support team is here to help you with your questions and concerns.

AWS CDK build docker image and push to ECR | Guide

AWS CDK, short for Cloud Development Kit is a popular open-source software development framework. It enables developers to define cloud infrastructure in code. In other words, we can use programming languages like TypeScript, Python, JavaScript, and so on to define our AWS resources.

According to our experts, we can build and deploy Docker images via AWS CDK, with these steps:

1. First, we have to define the required AWS resources. For instance, it may include resources like the AWS ECR.
2. Next, we have to build our Docker image with the AWS CDK constructs or custom logic in our CDK code. As mentioned earlier, we can choose a programming language of our choice.
3. Then, it is time to push the image to ECR with AWS CDK constructs or custom code.

In short, building and pushing a Docker image to ECR with AWS CDK includes defining the AWS resources, building the Docker image, and pushing the image to ECR.

Example

Let’s take a look at a TypeScript example of how we can do this with AWS CDK:

import * as cdk from 'aws-cdk-lib';
import * as ecr from 'aws-cdk-lib/aws-ecr';
import * as codebuild from 'aws-cdk-lib/aws-codebuild';
const app = new cdk.App();
const stack = new cdk.Stack(app, 'MyStack');
const repository = new ecr.Repository(stack, 'MyECRRepository');
const buildProject = new codebuild.PipelineProject(stack, 'MyBuildProject', {
buildSpec: codebuild.BuildSpec.fromObject({
version: '0.2',
phases: {
build: {
commands: [
'docker build -t .', // Replace with your Docker build command
`docker tag ${repository.repositoryUri}`
],
},
},
artifacts: {
'base-directory': 'dist', // Specify the build output directory
files: [
'**/*',
],
},
}),
});
repository.grantPullPush(buildProject);
const pipeline = new codepipeline.Pipeline(stack, 'MyPipeline');
const sourceOutput = new codepipeline.Artifact();
const buildOutput = new codepipeline.Artifact();
pipeline.addStage({
stageName: 'Source',
actions: [
// Add your source action (e.g., CodeCommit, GitHub, etc.) here
],
});
pipeline.addStage({
stageName: 'Build',
actions: [
new codepipeline_actions.CodeBuildAction({
actionName: 'Build',
project: buildProject,
input: sourceOutput,
outputs: [buildOutput],
}),
],
});
app.synth();


Here, we have defined an ECR repository and a CodeBuild project. Furthermore, the buildSpec property of the PipelineProject defines the commands to build the Docker image and tag it with the repository URI.

Additionally, the grantPullPush method helps us grant permissions to the CodeBuild project to push the image to the ECR repository. In the end, we define a CodePipeline and add stages for source and build actions.

Furthermore, we have to replace <image_tag> with the correct image tag and customize the pipeline stages and source action according to our needs.

After deploying this AWS CDK stack, it builds and pushes our Docker image to ECR as part of the defined pipeline flow.

[Need assistance with a different issue? Our team is available 24/7.]

Conclusion

To conclude, our Support Techs demonstrated how to build and deploy Docker images via CDK and push them to ECR.