Docker setup is broken across main and multiple release tags (missing Dockerfiles, invalid build contexts, workspace build failure)

[sinux095-ops]

I tried to run CitrineOS using the provided Swarm/docker-compose.yml on a clean setup, but the project is currently not runnable via Docker on main or several recent release tags.
This appears to be a repository configuration issue, not a platform-specific one. I reproduced it on macOS (Apple Silicon), but the problems are structural and would affect other environments as well.

Environment
OS: macOS (Apple Silicon / ARM64)
Docker Desktop: latest
Git: latest
Node (host): 18.x / 22.x
Tags/branches tested:
main
v1.6.0
v1.5.1
v1.4.3
Expected behavior
Following the repo structure and documentation, running:
cd Swarm
docker compose up
should start:
PostgreSQL
RabbitMQ
Redis
Directus
CitrineOS services (ports 8080–8087)
Actual behavior
Docker fails during build due to multiple blocking issues.

1. Dockerfiles referenced in docker-compose.yml do not exist
   Examples from Swarm/docker-compose.yml:
   dockerfile: ./Swarm/docker/Dockerfile
   dockerfile: ./docker/redis/Dockerfile
   dockerfile: .deploy.Dockerfile
   These paths/directories do not exist in:
   main
   v1.6.0
   v1.5.1
   v1.4.3
   The only Dockerfile present under Swarm/ is:
   Swarm/local.Dockerfile
2. Incorrect build context paths
   Example:
   build:
   context: .DirectusExtensions
   Since docker-compose.yml lives in Swarm/, Docker resolves this as:
   Swarm/.DirectusExtensions
   But the actual directory is:
   /DirectusExtensions
   The correct context (relative to Swarm/) should be:
   context: ../DirectusExtensions
3. Dockerfile path resolution issues
   Docker resolves dockerfile paths relative to the build context, not the compose file.
   Because of this mismatch, errors like the following occur even when files exist:
   failed to read dockerfile: open local.Dockerfile: no such file or directory
4. npm workspaces build failure
   After patching Dockerfile paths and contexts locally to get the build to proceed, the process fails with:
   Error: No workspaces found!
   This happens because:
   local.Dockerfile runs:
   npm install --workspaces
   But the Docker build context does not include the repo root package.json
   Therefore npm cannot detect any workspaces
   This indicates a design mismatch between:
   docker-compose.yml
   local.Dockerfile
   the monorepo workspace structure
   Conclusion
   The Docker setup is not runnable out of the box
   The issue is repo-wide, not macOS/ARM-specific
   Multiple release tags and main are affected
   Running CitrineOS via Docker currently requires manual patching and guesswork
   Suggested next steps (maintainer guidance needed)
   It would help to clarify or fix one of the following:
   Align docker-compose.yml and Dockerfiles so that:
   All referenced Dockerfiles exist
   Build contexts are correct relative to the compose location
   Clearly document:
   Expected build context (repo root vs Swarm/)
   Supported way to run CitrineOS via Docker
   Provide at least one validated, runnable Docker setup for a supported tag

[StefanRiedAV]

the current versions core 1.8.1. and ui 1.0 build well from the repo, if you are on a ubuntu vm 24.04.1 and have node pinned to v24.4.1.

On the older version, I have also wasted a lot of time figuring a reliable build out.
Some learnings from me

0. Make sure you have an x86_64 ubuntu vm.
1. Make sure you have the defined node versions in your container. Otherwise the deploy.Dockerfile fails in the build.
   The current deploy.Dockerfile makes this more explicit. Building the older CitrineOS on newer nodes or vise versa gives you many errors in the line "RUN npm run install-all && npm run build"

#  SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2025 Contributors to the CitrineOS Project
#
#  SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0

# Use a specific base image with platform support
FROM --platform=${BUILDPLATFORM:-linux/amd64} node:24.4.1 AS build

WORKDIR /usr/local/apps/citrineos

COPY . .
RUN npm run install-all && npm run build

# The final stage, which copies built files and prepares the run environment
# Using a slim image to reduce the final image size
FROM node:24.4.1-slim
COPY --from=build /usr/local/apps/citrineos /usr/local/apps/citrineos

WORKDIR /usr/local/apps/citrineos

RUN chmod +x /usr/local/apps/citrineos/entrypoint.sh

EXPOSE ${PORT}

ENTRYPOINT ["/usr/local/apps/citrineos/entrypoint.sh"]

2. Check dependencies.
   The package.json (especially in the operators-ui on version 0.5 and before) shows a dependency to potentially new core versions.
   package.json
   ... "dependencies": { "@citrineos/base": "^1.7.1",

The '^' is the problem, it includes potentially a new 1.8.x base and the whole build fails.
Remove the '^' and it works with an explicit version of the core.

3. If you are totally frustrated building the citrineOS-core
   Replace the build in the docker-compose.yml simply with a image.
   Check the images:
   https://github.com/citrineos/citrineos-core/pkgs/container/citrineos-server
   You might simple put
   image: ghcr.io/citrineos/citrineos-server:v1.8.1
   in your docker-compose.yml.

Hope this helps