how to run two shell commands in different folders in docker-compose

Question

I'm trying to dockerize my application. It consists of a .NET Core backend and an Angular frontend, set up like this:

root folder
- docker-compose
- Dockerfile
  1. web subfolder (contains Angular frontend)
  2. api subfolder (contains .NET Core backend)
I can successfully create a container using a docker-compose and Dockerfile. I can't figure out how to actually run the application in Docker. Normally when I want to run the application locally on my computer I do the 'dotnet run' command from the api folder using Powershell and then in another Powershell window I run the 'ng serve' command from the web folder. How would I run two shell commands from two different folders in either docker-compose or a Dockerfile?

I tried adding the two commands at the end of the Dockerfile like this:

RUN cd api && dotnet run api.csproj

RUN cd web && ng serve

Docker runs the first line but never gets to the next line. I'm guessing I have to issue commands from the docker-compose but I don't know how to go about it.

UPDATE: In response to splitting the application into two different containers, the two parts are dependent on each other. The backend has a symlink to the frontend. When the backend is initialized it checks to see if node is installed and the node_modules folder from the frontend exists, if it doesn't then an error occurs. In the docker container, I need to create the frontend first and install node then create the backend. I also figured to keep the file size down it made sense to keep everything in one container.

It seems to me you actually have two distinct applications. In this case, I would usually try to have one Dockerfile for each application. Is there a specific reason why you want to have both these applications running from a single Docker container? — Gabriela Melo
– Gabriela Melo, Commented Feb 16, 2020 at 20:48
The app is set up where the backend has a symlink to the frontend. I need to create the frontend first then the backend, otherwise the app throws an error when initialized. — mdailey77
– mdailey77, Commented Feb 17, 2020 at 14:08

Konstantinos K · Accepted Answer · 2020-02-17 00:15:20Z

1

You are using 'command1 && command2' which means run command2 if command1 exited with exit code 0, however command1 never exits.

In order to run 2 processes in one container you can follow this guide.

Note: A container in most cases is supposed to be one isolated process, as a result you should consider separating your application in two containers, one for the frontend and one for the backend.

answered Feb 17, 2020 at 0:15

Konstantinos K

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2 Comments

mdailey77 Over a year ago

I did have the application separated into two containers at first but kept encountering problems. I couldn't figure out how to get the backend container to detect node and the node_modules folder in the frontend container.

mdailey77 Over a year ago

I checked out the link you provided. I think the way to go is to create a Powershell script that will start two processes. Thanks for the help.

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