compose-anything/builds/debian-dind/README.md

Debian DinD

A Docker-in-Docker (DinD) service based on Debian, allowing you to run Docker inside a Docker container. Useful for CI/CD pipelines, development environments, and containerized build systems.

Features

• Based on latest stable Debian (13.2-slim)
• Out-of-the-box Docker daemon
• Optional NVIDIA Container Toolkit for GPU support
• Resource limits configured
• Healthcheck included
• Customizable via environment variables

Quick Start

1. Copy the example environment file:

   cp .env.example .env
   

2. Start the service:

   docker compose up -d
   

3. Verify Docker is running inside the container:

   docker compose exec dind docker info
   docker compose exec dind docker run hello-world
   

Configuration

Key environment variables (see .env.example for all options):

Variable	Description	Default
GLOBAL_REGISTRY	Global registry prefix (optional)	-
DEBIAN_DIND_VERSION	Main DinD image version	0.1.1
DEBIAN_DIND_GPU_VERSION	GPU-enabled DinD image version	0.1.1-gpu
DEBIAN_VERSION	Debian base image version	13.2-slim
DIND_PORT_OVERRIDE	Host port for Docker daemon	2375
INSTALL_NVIDIA_TOOLKIT	Install NVIDIA toolkit during build	false
TZ	Timezone	UTC
DIND_CPU_LIMIT	CPU limit	2.0
DIND_MEMORY_LIMIT	Memory limit	4G
DIND_CPU_RESERVATION	CPU reservation	1.0
DIND_MEMORY_RESERVATION	Memory reservation	2G
DOCKER_TLS_CERTDIR	TLS certificate directory	Empty (TLS disabled)

GPU Support

To use DinD with GPU support:

1. Set INSTALL_NVIDIA_TOOLKIT=true in .env

2. Use the gpu profile:

   docker compose --profile gpu up -d
   

Or use the dedicated GPU service:

docker compose up -d dind-gpu

Security Considerations

⚠️ Important: This service runs in privileged mode, which grants the container extensive access to the host system. Only use this in trusted environments.

• Privileged mode is required for DinD to function
• Docker daemon exposed on port 2375 without TLS (development only)
• For production, enable TLS by setting DOCKER_TLS_CERTDIR=/certs

Volume

• dind-data: Stores Docker daemon data (images, containers, volumes)
• dind-gpu-data: Separate volume for GPU-enabled service

Resource Limits

Default resource limits:

• CPU: 2.0 cores (limit), 1.0 core (reservation)
• Memory: 4GB (limit), 2GB (reservation)

Adjust these in .env based on your workload.

Advanced Usage

Connect from host

You can connect to the Docker daemon from your host machine:

export DOCKER_HOST=tcp://localhost:2375
docker info

Use in CI/CD

Example GitLab CI configuration:

services:
  - name: your-registry/debian-dind:latest
    alias: docker

variables:
  DOCKER_HOST: tcp://docker:2375

Build Arguments

When building the image manually:

• DEBIAN_VERSION: Debian base version (default: 13.2-slim)
• INSTALL_NVIDIA_TOOLKIT: Install NVIDIA toolkit (default: false)

Example:

docker build --build-arg DEBIAN_VERSION=13.2-slim --build-arg INSTALL_NVIDIA_TOOLKIT=true -t debian-dind-gpu .

License

This configuration is provided as-is for use with the Compose Anything project.