How to Use Docker Compose & Jekyll: Streamlining Web Development

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The field of web development is constantly evolving, and a popular combination for building and deploying static websites is Docker Compose and Jekyll. By using Docker’s containerization technology along with Jekyll’s static site generation capabilities, developers can enjoy a powerful toolset that allows them to create, test, and deploy web projects with ease and precision.

Table of Contents

Understanding Docker Compose and Jekyll

Before delving into their integration, it’s essential to grasp the basics of Docker Compose and Jekyll.

Docker Compose

Docker Compose is a tool for defining and running multi-container Docker applications. With Compose, you use a YAML file to configure your application’s services, networks, and volumes. This allows you to manage your application’s lifecycle by starting, stopping, and rebuilding services, monitoring their status, and viewing logs. Docker Compose simplifies the Docker experience, making it more accessible to developers and teams.

Jekyll

Jekyll is a simple, blog-aware, static site generator perfect for personal, project, or organization sites. It takes text written in your favorite markup language and uses layouts to create a static website. You can tweak the site’s look and feel, URLs, the data displayed on the page, and more. Jekyll is known for its simplicity, reliance on Markdown, and integration with GitHub Pages, making it a popular choice for developers looking to deploy websites quickly.

Integrating Docker Compose with Jekyll

The integration of Docker Compose and Jekyll provides a contained environment where all necessary dependencies and configurations are encapsulated, making the development and deployment process as seamless as possible. Here’s how you can use these tools together:

Running Jekyll with Docker Compose

docker-compose.yml

version: '3'
services:
  jekyll:
    image: jekyll/jekyll:latest
    command: jekyll serve --watch --force_polling --verbose --incremental --drafts
    volumes:
      - .:/srv/jekyll
      - bundle_data:/usr/local/bundle
    ports:
      - "4000:4000"
    environment:
      JEKYLL_ENV: development

volumes:
  bundle_data:

Explanation of Components

version: Specifies the Docker Compose file format version. '3' is a common choice for compatibility and features.
services: Defines the containers you want to run. In this case, there’s only one service called jekyll.
image: Specifies the Docker image to use. jekyll/jekyll:latest is the official Jekyll image, which is kept up to date with the latest stable release.
command: The command to run inside the container. jekyll serve --watch --force_polling --verbose --incremental --drafts starts the Jekyll server with several options enabled:
- --watch: Watches for file changes and rebuilds the site automatically.
- --force_polling: Useful on some filesystems that don’t support automatic file change notifications.
- --verbose: Provides additional output for debugging.
- --incremental: Rebuilds only posts and pages that have changed, speeding up build times.
- --drafts: Includes draft posts in the build.
volumes:
- The first volume mounts your project directory (.) to /srv/jekyll inside the container. This allows the container to access your site’s files.
- The second volume (bundle_data) stores Ruby gems between container restarts, improving build times by caching dependencies.
ports: Maps port 4000 on the container to port 4000 on the host, allowing you to access the Jekyll site by visiting http://localhost:4000 in your web browser.
environment: Sets environment variables for the container. JEKYLL_ENV: development tells Jekyll to run in development mode, which can affect things like analytics and comments depending on your configuration.
volumes (at the file’s end): Declares named volumes used by services. bundle_data is defined here without specifying any options, which creates a default volume managed by Docker.

Running Your Jekyll Site

Navigate to your Jekyll project directory in a terminal.
Run the following command:

docker compose up

This command builds and starts the Jekyll container as defined in your docker-compose.yml. Your Jekyll site should now be accessible at http://localhost:4000.

To stop the container, press Ctrl+C in the terminal where it’s running, or run the following command in another terminal window:

docker compose down

This setup is a starting point. Depending on your project’s specific needs, you might want to customize the Docker image, the command options, or other service settings.

Benefits of Using Docker Compose with Jekyll

The Docker Compose and Jekyll integration offers several advantages:

Consistency: Docker Compose ensures that your development, testing, and production environments are identical, reducing the “it works on my machine” problem.
Simplicity: Developers can get up and running with a few commands without manually managing Ruby versions or Gem dependencies.
Isolation: By containerizing your Jekyll site, you minimize conflicts between projects or system setups.
Scalability: Although Jekyll generates static sites, Docker Compose allows you to integrate other services, such as databases or backend APIs, as your project grows.

Conclusion

Docker Compose and Jekyll together form a powerful tool for web developers. This combination provides an efficient and streamlined workflow for static site generation and deployment. By using Docker’s containerization with Jekyll’s simplicity, developers can focus more on content creation and less on environment management. Whether you are building a personal blog, project documentation site, or corporate website, integrating Docker Compose with Jekyll can enhance your development process, making it more reliable, consistent, and scalable.

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Anastasios Antoniadis

Anastasios Antoniadis is the founder and editor-in-chief of BORDERPOLAR... He is a software engineer, blogger, and avid gamer covering tech, gaming, and coding guides for over 4 years. He is a 2014 graduate of the Department of Informatics and Telecommunications of the University of Athens, an M.Sc. holder in Computer Science, and a Ph.D. student in Program Analysis.