Docker Deployment Guide

Run DINOForge and related tools in isolated Docker containers for consistent, reproducible deployments across development, testing, and production environments.

Overview

Docker provides several advantages for DINOForge deployment:

Consistency: Same environment across all machines (dev, CI, production)
Isolation: No conflicts with system dependencies
Scalability: Easy horizontal scaling for multi-pack compilation
Reproducibility: Version-locked .NET runtime and dependencies
Easy Setup: Single docker-compose up command

This guide covers containerizing:

DINOForge SDK and PackCompiler tooling
MCP Bridge server
Optional: Game instance (Wine container for testing)

Prerequisites

Docker 20.10+ or Docker Desktop
Docker Compose 2.0+ (included with Docker Desktop)
4 GB+ RAM allocated to Docker
10 GB+ free disk space

Check Docker Installation

bash

docker --version
docker-compose --version

Dockerfile (Build DINOForge Runtime & Tools)

Create: Dockerfile.dinoforge

dockerfile

# Multi-stage build: .NET 11 SDK → Runtime

# Build stage
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:11.0-preview-bookworm as builder

WORKDIR /src

# Copy solution and projects
COPY DINOForge.sln ./
COPY src/ ./src/
COPY schemas/ ./schemas/
COPY packs/ ./packs/

# Restore dependencies
RUN dotnet restore src/DINOForge.sln

# Build release configuration
RUN dotnet build src/DINOForge.sln -c Release -o /app/build

# Publish stage
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/runtime:11.0-preview-bookworm

LABEL maintainer="DINOForge Developers"
LABEL description="DINOForge Runtime & SDK Container"
LABEL version="0.14.0"

# Install additional runtime dependencies
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
    curl \
    jq \
    wget \
    ca-certificates \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

WORKDIR /app

# Copy built artifacts from builder
COPY --from=builder /app/build .

# Create directories for mods, data, logs
RUN mkdir -p /app/mods /app/data /app/logs

# Environment variables
ENV DOTNET_SYSTEM_GLOBALIZATION_INVARIANT=1
ENV DOTNET_EnableDiagnostics=0

# Health check
HEALTHCHECK --interval=30s --timeout=10s --start-period=40s --retries=3 \
    CMD curl -f http://localhost:8765/health || exit 1

# Expose MCP server port
EXPOSE 8765

# Default: run MCP server
CMD ["dotnet", "DINOForge.Tools.DinoforgeMcp.dll"]

Docker Compose Configuration

Create: docker-compose.yml

yaml

version: '3.9'

services:
  # DINOForge MCP Server
  dinoforge-mcp:
    build:
      context: .
      dockerfile: Dockerfile.dinoforge
    container_name: dinoforge-mcp
    ports:
      - "8765:8765"
    volumes:
      # Mod packs
      - ./packs:/app/packs:ro
      # Persistent data (configs, logs)
      - dinoforge-data:/app/data
      # Logs for inspection
      - dinoforge-logs:/app/logs
    environment:
      # .NET configuration
      DOTNET_SYSTEM_GLOBALIZATION_INVARIANT: "1"
      DOTNET_EnableDiagnostics: "0"
      # DINOForge configuration
      LOG_LEVEL: "Info"
      MCP_HOST: "0.0.0.0"
      MCP_PORT: "8765"
    restart: unless-stopped
    networks:
      - dinoforge-network
    depends_on:
      - dinoforge-cache

  # Redis cache (optional: for distributed pack compilation)
  dinoforge-cache:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    container_name: dinoforge-cache
    ports:
      - "6379:6379"
    volumes:
      - redis-data:/data
    restart: unless-stopped
    networks:
      - dinoforge-network

  # PostgreSQL database (optional: for game state tracking)
  dinoforge-db:
    image: postgres:15-alpine
    container_name: dinoforge-db
    environment:
      POSTGRES_USER: dinoforge
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: changeme  # CHANGE THIS!
      POSTGRES_DB: dinoforge_data
    volumes:
      - postgres-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    ports:
      - "5432:5432"
    restart: unless-stopped
    networks:
      - dinoforge-network

  # (Optional) Wine container for game testing
  dinoforge-game-test:
    image: lutris/lutris:latest
    container_name: dinoforge-game-test
    volumes:
      # Game installation
      - game-install:/home/user/.steam/steamapps/common/Diplomacy\ is\ Not\ an\ Option
      # Mods
      - ./packs:/mods:ro
      # Shared data
      - dinoforge-data:/shared-data
    environment:
      DISPLAY: ":1"
    # Uncomment for X11 forwarding on Linux
    # ports:
    #   - "6000:6000"
    restart: "no"
    networks:
      - dinoforge-network
    profiles:
      - "with-game"  # Only enable with: docker-compose --profile with-game up

networks:
  dinoforge-network:
    driver: bridge

volumes:
  dinoforge-data:
    driver: local
  dinoforge-logs:
    driver: local
  redis-data:
    driver: local
  postgres-data:
    driver: local
  game-install:
    driver: local

Building and Running

Build the Docker Image

bash

# From the DINOForge repository root
docker build -f Dockerfile.dinoforge -t dinoforge:latest .

# Or use docker-compose (builds automatically)
docker-compose build

Start Services

bash

# Start core services (MCP, Redis)
docker-compose up -d

# Or start with game testing container
docker-compose --profile with-game up -d

# View logs
docker-compose logs -f dinoforge-mcp

# Stop services
docker-compose down

Verify Containers Are Running

bash

docker-compose ps

# Expected output:
# NAME                    STATUS
# dinoforge-mcp           Up
# dinoforge-cache         Up
# dinoforge-db            Up

Configuration via Environment Variables

Override settings without rebuilding:

bash

docker-compose run --rm dinoforge-mcp env -i \
    LOG_LEVEL=Debug \
    MCP_HOST=127.0.0.1 \
    RUST_BACKTRACE=1 \
    dotnet DINOForge.Tools.DinoforgeMcp.dll

Or set in .env file:

env

# .env
LOG_LEVEL=Info
MCP_HOST=0.0.0.0
MCP_PORT=8765
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=mysecurepassword
REDIS_HOST=dinoforge-cache
REDIS_PORT=6379

Then:

bash

docker-compose --env-file .env up -d

Volume Mounting for Development

Mount Local Directories

bash

# Mount source code for live development
docker-compose run --rm \
  -v $(pwd)/src:/app/src:ro \
  -v $(pwd)/schemas:/app/schemas:ro \
  dinoforge-mcp bash

# Inside container:
cd /app
dotnet run --project src/Tools/PackCompiler -- validate packs/

Accessing Logs

bash

# View container logs
docker-compose logs dinoforge-mcp

# Follow logs in real-time
docker-compose logs -f dinoforge-mcp

# Extract logs to file
docker-compose logs dinoforge-mcp > logs/mcp.log

# Access mounted logs directory
ls -la dinoforge-logs/

Networking

Accessing Services from Host

bash

# MCP Server (from host)
curl http://localhost:8765/rpc \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"game_status","params":{}}'

# Redis (from host)
redis-cli -h 127.0.0.1 -p 6379

# PostgreSQL (from host)
psql -h 127.0.0.1 -U dinoforge -d dinoforge_data

Inter-container Communication

Containers can reach each other via service names:

bash

# From dinoforge-mcp to Redis
redis://dinoforge-cache:6379

# From dinoforge-mcp to PostgreSQL
postgresql://dinoforge:password@dinoforge-db:5432/dinoforge_data

Advanced: Multi-Stage Compilation

Scale pack compilation across multiple containers:

yaml

services:
  pack-compiler:
    image: dinoforge:latest
    command: dotnet DINOForge.Tools.PackCompiler build ${PACK_NAME}
    volumes:
      - ./packs:/app/packs
      - ./dist:/app/dist
    environment:
      PACK_NAME: ${PACK_NAME:-example-balance}
    networks:
      - dinoforge-network

  pack-compiler-2:
    image: dinoforge:latest
    command: dotnet DINOForge.Tools.PackCompiler build ${PACK_NAME_2}
    volumes:
      - ./packs:/app/packs
      - ./dist:/app/dist
    networks:
      - dinoforge-network

Run parallel compilations:

bash

PACK_NAME=warfare-modern PACK_NAME_2=example-balance \
docker-compose up pack-compiler pack-compiler-2

Testing Connectivity

Test MCP Server Health

bash

# Inside container
docker-compose exec dinoforge-mcp curl -s http://localhost:8765/health | jq

# From host
curl -s http://localhost:8765/rpc \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"game_status","params":{}}' | jq

Test Redis Connection

bash

docker-compose exec dinoforge-cache redis-cli ping
# Expected: PONG

Test PostgreSQL Connection

bash

docker-compose exec dinoforge-db psql -U dinoforge -d dinoforge_data -c "SELECT 1"
# Expected: 1

Troubleshooting

Container Fails to Start

Solution:

bash

# Check logs
docker-compose logs dinoforge-mcp

# Rebuild image
docker-compose build --no-cache

# Restart
docker-compose up -d

Port Already in Use

Solution:

bash

# Find what's using the port
lsof -i :8765

# Change port in docker-compose.yml
# Or stop the conflicting service and restart
docker-compose down

Volume Permission Issues

Solution:

bash

# Fix permissions on host directories
chmod -R u+rwX packs/
chmod -R u+rwX dinoforge-logs/

# Or run container with user ID
docker-compose run --user $(id -u):$(id -g) dinoforge-mcp bash

Container Out of Memory

Solution:

bash

# Increase Docker memory limit
# Docker Desktop: Preferences → Resources → Memory: 8GB+ recommended

# Or limit specific container
# In docker-compose.yml, add:
# deploy:
#   resources:
#     limits:
#       memory: 2G

Production Deployment

Push to Docker Registry

bash

# Tag image
docker tag dinoforge:latest myregistry.azurecr.io/dinoforge:v0.14.0

# Push to registry
docker push myregistry.azurecr.io/dinoforge:v0.14.0

# Deploy using helm, kubernetes, or Compose

Security Best Practices

dockerfile

# Use multi-stage builds (done above)
# Don't run as root
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/runtime:11.0-preview-bookworm

RUN useradd -m -u 1000 dinoforge
USER dinoforge

# Set resource limits in docker-compose.yml
# Use environment variables for secrets (use .env.prod)
# Enable read-only root filesystem where possible

Docker CLI Commands Reference

bash

# Build
docker-compose build

# Start (detached)
docker-compose up -d

# Stop
docker-compose down

# View logs
docker-compose logs -f dinoforge-mcp

# Execute command in running container
docker-compose exec dinoforge-mcp bash

# Run one-off command
docker-compose run --rm dinoforge-mcp dotnet --version

# Remove volumes
docker-compose down -v

# Rebuild and restart
docker-compose down && docker-compose build && docker-compose up -d

Docker Deployment Guide ​

Overview ​

Prerequisites ​

Check Docker Installation ​

Dockerfile (Build DINOForge Runtime & Tools) ​

Docker Compose Configuration ​

Building and Running ​

Build the Docker Image ​

Start Services ​

Verify Containers Are Running ​

Configuration via Environment Variables ​

Volume Mounting for Development ​

Mount Local Directories ​

Accessing Logs ​

Networking ​

Accessing Services from Host ​

Inter-container Communication ​

Advanced: Multi-Stage Compilation ​

Testing Connectivity ​

Test MCP Server Health ​

Test Redis Connection ​

Test PostgreSQL Connection ​

Troubleshooting ​

Container Fails to Start ​

Port Already in Use ​

Volume Permission Issues ​

Container Out of Memory ​

Production Deployment ​

Push to Docker Registry ​

Security Best Practices ​

Docker CLI Commands Reference ​

Next Steps ​

Docker Deployment Guide

Overview

Prerequisites

Check Docker Installation

Dockerfile (Build DINOForge Runtime & Tools)

Docker Compose Configuration

Building and Running

Build the Docker Image

Start Services

Verify Containers Are Running

Configuration via Environment Variables

Volume Mounting for Development

Mount Local Directories

Accessing Logs

Networking

Accessing Services from Host

Inter-container Communication

Advanced: Multi-Stage Compilation

Testing Connectivity

Test MCP Server Health

Test Redis Connection

Test PostgreSQL Connection

Troubleshooting

Container Fails to Start

Port Already in Use

Volume Permission Issues

Container Out of Memory

Production Deployment

Push to Docker Registry

Security Best Practices

Docker CLI Commands Reference

Next Steps