Google Cloud Buildpacks

This repository contains a set of builders and buildpacks designed to run on Google Cloud's container platforms: Cloud Run, GKE, Anthos, and Compute Engine running Container-Optimized OS. They are also used as the build system for App Engine and Cloud Functions. They are 100% compatible with Cloud Native Buildpacks.

Quickstart

1. Install Docker

2. Install the pack tool (a CLI for running Buildpacks)

3. Clone the sample apps:

   git clone https://github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/buildpack-samples.git
   cd buildpack-samples
   

4. Pick a sample and build it, for instance with sample-go:

   cd sample-go
   pack build --builder gcr.io/buildpacks/builder:v1 sample-go
   

5. Run it with docker, like:

   docker run --rm -p 8080:8080 sample-go
   

See the Usage section for more details.

Concepts

To read more, see Buildpack project documentation.

• Builder A container image that contains buildpacks and detection order in which builds are executed.
• Buildpack An executable that "inspects your app source code and formulates a plan to build and run your application".
• Buildpack Group Several buildpacks which together provide support for a specific language or framework.
• Run Image The container image that serves as the base for the built application.

General Builder and Buildpacks

This is a general purpose builder that creates container images designed to run on most platforms (e.g. Kubernetes / Anthos, Knative / Cloud Run, Container OS, etc), and should be used by the majority of users. The builder attempts to autodetect the language of your source code, and can also build functions compatible with the Google Cloud Function Framework by setting the GOOGLE_FUNCTION_TARGET env var.

The general builder is hosted at gcr.io/buildpacks/builder:v1.

Supported languages include:

Runtime	App Support	Function Support
Go 1.10 +	✓	✓
Node.js 10 +	✓	✓
Python 3.7 +	✓	✓
Java 8, 11	✓	✓ (11 only)
.NET Core 3.1 +	✓	✓

App Engine and Cloud Function Builders and Buildpacks

These builders create container images designed to run on Google Cloud's App Engine and Functions services. Most of the buildpacks are identical to those in the general builder.

Compared to the general builder, there are two primary differences. First, there are additional buildpacks which add transformations specific to each service. Second, in order to optimize execution speed, each language has a separate builder.

Usage

The Google Cloud Buildpacks project provides builder images suitable for use with pack, kpack, tekton, skaffold, and other tools that support the Buildpacks v3 specification.

Building an application

The following command invokes pack to apply the general builder to build the application in the current directory, and then containerizes the result into a local container image named <app-name>.

pack build <app-name> --builder gcr.io/buildpacks/builder:v1

The application you built can then be executed locally:

docker run --rm -p 8080:8080 <app-name>

You can set Cloud Buildpacks as your default:

pack set-default-builder gcr.io/buildpacks/builder:v1

And you can publish the built image to the cloud directly with pack:

pack build --publish gcr.io/YOUR_PROJECT_ID/APP_NAME

Building a function

The same commands as above can be used to build a function image. The following command builds a function called myFunction and produces a local image named <fn-name>.

pack build <fn-name> --builder gcr.io/buildpacks/builder:v1 --env GOOGLE_FUNCTION_TARGET=myFunction

Extending the run image

If your application requires additional system packages to be installed and available when it runs, you can accomplish this by customizing the run container image.

cat > run.Dockerfile << EOF
FROM gcr.io/buildpacks/gcp/run:v1
USER root
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
  imagemagick && \
  apt-get clean && \
  rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
USER cnb
EOF

docker build -t my-run-image -f run.Dockerfile .

To use the custom run image with pack:

pack build my-app --builder gcr.io/buildpacks/builder:v1 --run-image my-run-image

Extending the builder image

If you require certain packages for building your application, create a custom builder image based on the base builder:

cat > builder.Dockerfile << EOF
FROM gcr.io/buildpacks/builder:v1
USER root
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
  subversion && \
  apt-get clean && \
  rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
USER cnb
EOF

docker build -t my-builder-image -f builder.Dockerfile .

To use the custom builder with pack:

pack build my-app --builder my-builder-image

Configuration

Google Cloud Buildpacks support configuration using a set of environment variables that are set at build time. For example, when using pack:

pack build my-app --builder gcr.io/buildpacks/builder:v1 --env GOOGLE_ENTRYPOINT="gunicorn -p :8080 main:app"

Common options

The following confguration options are supported across runtimes:

• GOOGLE_ENTRYPOINT
  • Specifies the command which is run when the container is executed; equivalent to entrypoint in a Dockerfile.
  • See the default entrypoint behavior section for default behavior.
  • Example: gunicorn -p :8080 main:app for Python. java -jar target/myjar.jar for Java.
• GOOGLE_RUNTIME
  • If specified, forces the runtime to opt-in. If the runtime buildpack appears in multiple groups, the first group will be chosen, consistent with the buildpack specification.
  • (Only applicable to buildpacks install language runtime or toolchain.)
  • Example: nodejs will cause the nodejs/runtime buildpack to opt-in.
• GOOGLE_RUNTIME_VERSION
  • If specified, overrides the runtime version to install. In .NET, overrides the .NET SDK version to install.
  • (Only applicable to buildpacks install language runtime or toolchain.)
  • Example: 13.7.0 for Node.js, 1.14.1 for Go, 8 for Java, 3.1.301 for .NET.
• GOOGLE_BUILDABLE
  • Specifies path to a buildable unit.
  • (Only applicable to compiled languages.)
  • Example: ./maindir for Go will build the package rooted at maindir.
• GOOGLE_BUILD_ARGS
  • Appends arguments to build command.
  • (Currently only applicable to Java Maven and Gradle and .NET)
  • Example: -Pprod for a Java will run mvn clean package ... -Pprod.
• GOOGLE_DEVMODE
  • Enables the development mode buildpacks. This is used by Skaffold to enable live local development where changes to your source code trigger automatic container rebuilds. To use, install Skaffold and run skaffold dev.
  • Example: true, True, 1 will enable development mode.
• GOOGLE_CLEAR_SOURCE
  • Clears source after the application is built. If the application depends on static files, such as Go templates, setting this variable may cause the application to misbehave.
  • (Only applicable to Go apps and Java apps & functions.)
  • Example: true, True, 1 will clear the source.

Certain buildpacks support other environment variables:

Functions Framework buildpacks

For use with source code built around the Google Cloud Functions Framework. See the contract for more information about the configuration options.

• GOOGLE_FUNCTION_TARGET
  • Specifies the name of the exported function to be invoked in response to requests.
  • Example: myFunction will cause the Functions Framework to invoke the function of the same name.
• GOOGLE_FUNCTION_SIGNATURE_TYPE
  • Specifies the signature used by the function.
  • Example: http, event, or cloudevent.
• GOOGLE_FUNCTION_SOURCE
  • Specifies the name of the directory or file containing the function source, depending on the language.
  • (Only applicable to some languages, please see the language-specific documentation.)
  • Example: function.py for Python.

Go Buildpacks

• GOOGLE_GOGCFLAGS
  • Passed to go build and go run as -gcflags value with no interpretation.
  • Example: all=-N -l enables race condition analysis and changes how source filepaths are recorded in the binary.
• GOOGLE_GOLDFLAGS
  • Passed to go build and go run as -ldflags value with no interpretation.
  • Example: -s -w is used to strip and reduce binary size.

Language-idiomatic configuration options

Buildpacks support language-idiomatic configuration through environment variables. These environment variables should be specified without a GOOGLE_ prefix.

• Go
  • GO<key>, see documentation.
    • Example: GOFLAGS=-flag=value passes -flag=value to go commands.
• Java
  • MAVEN_OPTS, see documentation.
    • Example: MAVEN_OPTS=-Xms256m -Xmx512m passes these flags to the JVM running Maven.
    • Example: MAVEN_OPTS=--add-opens java.base/java.lang=ALL-UNNAMED to suppress "illegal reflective access" warnings from Maven.
  • GRADLE_OPTS, see documentation.
    • Example: GRADLE_OPTS=-Xms256m -Xmx512m passes these flags to the JVM running Gradle.
  • Using the Google Maven Central mirror
    • Mirror URLs can be found here.
    • For Maven: Using Mirrors for Repositories

      • Create a copy of the settings.xml from the default location of ~/.m2/settings.xml to inside your application source directory and specify GOOGLE_BUILD_ARGS=--settings <path/to/settings>.

      • Note: <path/to/settings> is relative to the source directory.

      • Example settings.xml:

        <settings>
          <mirrors>
            <mirror>
              <id>google-maven-central</id>
              <name>GCS Maven Central mirror</name>
              <url>https://maven-central.storage-download.googleapis.com/maven2/</url>
              <mirrorOf>central</mirrorOf>
            </mirror>
          </mirrors>
        </settings>
        

    • For Gradle: Declaring Repositories

      • Example build.gradle entry:

        repositories {
            maven {
                url "https://maven-central.storage-download.googleapis.com/maven2/"
            }
        }
        

  • The Maven buildpack supports the Polyglot extensions for Maven. The Polyglot extensions are enabled by placing a suitably-configured .mvn/extensions.xml in your application source directory.
• Node.js
  • NPM_CONFIG_<key>, see documentation.
    • Example: NPM_CONFIG_FLAG=value passes -flag=value to npm commands.
• PHP
  • COMPOSER_<key>, see documentation.
    • Example: COMPOSER_PROCESS_TIMEOUT=60 sets the timeout for composer commands.
• Python
  • PIP_<key>, see documentation.
    • Example: PIP_DEFAULT_TIMEOUT=60 sets --default-timeout=60 for pip commands.
• Ruby
  • BUNDLE_<key>, see documentation.
    • Example: BUNDLE_TIMEOUT=60 sets --timeout=60 for bundle commands.

Default entrypoint behavior

• If GOOGLE_ENTRYPOINT is specified, use:
  • /bin/bash -c <entrypoint>
• If Procfile exists at the application root and contains a web process, use:
  • /bin/bash -c <web process>
• Otherwise, use language-specific behavior below.

Language-specific behavior

• .NET
  • Search the output directory for a binary or a library with the same name as the project file (e.g. app.csproj --> app or app.dll).
    • /bin/bash -c exec <project name>
    • /bin/bash -c dotnet <project name>.dll
  • Parse the project file for an AssemblyName field and search for the associated binary or library file in the output directory.
    • /bin/bash -c exec <assembly name>
    • /bin/bash -c dotnet <assembly name>.dll
• Go
  • Use <layer/path>/main, where main is the compiled binary.
  • The main binary is also available on $PATH.
• Java
  • Use the first executable .jar file found in the following directories, in order:
    • <workspace>/target
    • <workspace>/build
    • <workspace>/build/libs
    • <workspace>
  • If exactly one executable .jar file is found, use:
    • java -jar <executable.jar>
  • For "exploded jars", e.g. Spring Boot, find the Main-Class entry from the manifest and use:
    • java -classpath . <class>
• Node.js
  • Use npm start; see the npm documentation.
• PHP
  • Not available in the general builder.
• Python
  • No default entrypoint logic.
• Ruby
  • Not available in the general builder.

Known Limitations

• General:
  • Caching is project-specific, not cross-project. Dependencies, such as the JDK, cannot be shared across projects and need to be redownloaded on first build.
  • Built images have their creation time set to 40 years in the past. See reproducible builds.
• Node:
  • Custom build steps (e.g. executing the "build" script of package.json) are not supported.
  • Existing node_modules directory is deleted and dependencies reinstalled using package.json and a lockfile if present.
• Python
  • Private dependencies must be vendored. The build does not have access to private repository credentials and cannot pull dependencies at build time. Please see the App Engine instructions.
• Go

  • Private dependencies must be vendored. The build does not have access to private repository credentials and cannot pull dependencies at build time. Please see the App Engine instructions

  • (general builder only) Applications without a go.mod cannot have sub-packages.

  • Go 1.14 triggers a kernel bug in some versions of the Linux kernel (versions other than 5.3.15+, 5.4.2+, or 5.5+). If using an affected version, please set the following in your /etc/docker/daemon.json:

    "default-ulimits": {
        "memlock": {
            "Name": "memlock",
            "Soft": -1,
            "Hard": -1
        }
    },
    

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Using with Google Cloud Build

The buildpack builder can be invoked as a step of a Google Cloud Build process, for instance by using the pack builder image provided by the Skaffold project:

steps:
- name: 'gcr.io/k8s-skaffold/pack'
  entrypoint: 'pack'
  args: ['build', '--builder=gcr.io/buildpacks/builder', '--publish', 'gcr.io/$PROJECT_ID/sample-go:$COMMIT_SHA']

There is also support for invoking this builder directly using gcloud:

gcloud builds submit --pack image=gcr.io/my-project/imageg

This command will send the local source directory to Cloud Build, invoke this buildpack builder on it, and publish the resulting image to Google Container Registry.

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Support

Google Cloud Buildpacks are only officially supported when used with Google Cloud products. Customers of Google Cloud can use standard support channels for help using buildpacks with Google Cloud Products.

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Get involved with the community

We welcome contributions! Here's how you can contribute:

• Browse issues or file an issue
• Contribute:
  • Read the contributing guide before starting work on an issue
  • Try to fix good first issues
  • Help out on issues that need help
  • Join in on discussion issues
  • Join us on Slack

License

See LICENSE.