Setting up IronPDF in Docker Containers

Want to create PDF files in C# ?

IronPDF for .NET Standard now fully supports Docker, including Azure Docker Containers for Linux and Windows.

Why use Docker on Azure?

Alongside excellent enterprise scalability, Docker Containers on Azure enjoyed more permissions than regular WebApps.
This allows rendering of SVG fonts, because system access to GDI+ graphics are enabled.

IronPDF and Linux Primer

If Docker with .NET is new to you, we recommend this excellent article on setting up Docker debugging and integration with Visual Studio projects. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/containers/edit-and-refresh?view=vs-2019

We also highly recommend you read our IronPdf Linux Setup and Compatibility Guide

We recommend the latest 64 bit Linux OS's below for "easy configuration" of IronPDF.

We recommend using Microsoft's Official Docker Images . Other Linux distros are supported in part, but may require manual configuration using apt-get. See our "Linux Manual Setup" guide

Working Docker files for Ubuntu and Debian are included In this document:

IronPDF Linux Docker Installation Essentials

Use Linux Optimised Nuget Packages

We recommend using the IronPdf.Linux Nuget Package instead of the regular IronPdf Package to save disk space and avoid assets being downloaded when you start your Docker instance. Don't worry, it still works when developing on Windows or macOS - it is just Linux optimized.

PM> Install-Package IronPdf.Linux

Another solution is to simply add IronPdf.Native.Chrome.Linux on-top of the regular IronPdf Nuget package.

PM> Install-Package IronPdf.Native.Chrome.Linux

Avoid Automatic Dependency Installation

Many users report better results with Linux & Docker when LinuxAndDockerDependenciesAutoConfig is set false. That is because the prerequisites are already installed by apt-get style package managers already in your Docker files.

IronPdf.Installation.LinuxAndDockerDependenciesAutoConfig = false;

Disable GPU Acceleration

Linux Docker containers often do not have access to a GPU. GPU acceleration is disabled by default. If you have enabled ChromeGpuModes.Enabled, we highly recommend you disable it for Docker deployments:

IronPdf.Installation.ChromeGpuMode=IronPdf.Engines.Chrome.ChromeGpuModes.Disabled;  `

"Ahead of Time" Initialization

Optionally, you may also wish to call the IronPdf.Installation.Initialize() method to manually start IronPDF. The very first time a Docker instance uses IronPDF, it may take some time to download prerequisites. We can avoid that scenario, by calling this code when the instance is created:

 IronPdf.Installation.Initialize();

Ubuntu Linux DockerFiles

Ubuntu 20 with .NET 5

# base runtime image (Ubuntu 20 w/ .NET runtime)
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/aspnet:5.0-focal AS base
WORKDIR /app
# install necessary packages
RUN apt update \
    && apt install -y libc6 libc6-dev libgtk2.0-0 libnss3 libatk-bridge2.0-0 libx11-xcb1 libxcb-dri3-0 libdrm-common libgbm1 libasound2 libappindicator3-1 libxrender1 libfontconfig1 libxshmfence1
# update write permissions
RUN chmod 777 .
# base development image (Ubuntu 20 w/ .NET SDK)
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:5.0-focal AS build
WORKDIR /src
# restore NuGet packages
COPY ["Example/Example.csproj", "Example/"]
RUN dotnet restore "Example/Example.csproj"
# build project
COPY . .
WORKDIR "/src/Example"
RUN dotnet build "Example.csproj" -c Release -o /app/build
# publish project
FROM build AS publish
RUN dotnet publish "Example.csproj" -c Release -o /app/publish
# run app
FROM base AS final
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=publish /app/publish .
ENTRYPOINT ["dotnet", "Example.dll"]

Ubuntu 20 with .NET 3.1 LTS

# base runtime image (Ubuntu 20 w/ .NET runtime)
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/aspnet:3.1-focal AS base
WORKDIR /app
# install necessary packages
RUN apt update \
    && apt install -y libc6 libc6-dev libgtk2.0-0 libnss3 libatk-bridge2.0-0 libx11-xcb1 libxcb-dri3-0 libdrm-common libgbm1 libasound2 libappindicator3-1 libxrender1 libfontconfig1 libxshmfence1
# update write permissions
RUN chmod 777 .
# base development image (Ubuntu 20 w/ .NET SDK)
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:3.1-focal AS build
WORKDIR /src
# restore NuGet packages
COPY ["Example/Example.csproj", "Example/"]
RUN dotnet restore "Example/Example.csproj"
# build project
COPY . .
WORKDIR "/src/Example"
RUN dotnet build "Example.csproj" -c Release -o /app/build
# publish project
FROM build AS publish
RUN dotnet publish "Example.csproj" -c Release -o /app/publish
# run app
FROM base AS final
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=publish /app/publish .
ENTRYPOINT ["dotnet", "Example.dll"]

Ubuntu 18 with .NET 3.1 LTS

# base runtime image (Ubuntu 18 w/ .NET runtime)
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/aspnet:3.1-bionic AS base
WORKDIR /app
# install necessary packages
RUN apt update \
    && apt install -y libc6 libc6-dev libgtk2.0-0 libnss3 libatk-bridge2.0-0 libx11-xcb1 libxcb-dri3-0 libdrm-common libgbm1 libasound2 libappindicator3-1 libxrender1 libfontconfig1 libxshmfence-dev
# update write permissions
RUN chmod 777 .
# base development image (Ubuntu 18 w/ .NET SDK)
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:3.1-bionic AS build
WORKDIR /src
# restore NuGet packages
COPY ["Example/Example.csproj", "Example/"]
RUN dotnet restore "Example/Example.csproj"
# build project
COPY . .
WORKDIR "/src/Example"
RUN dotnet build "Example.csproj" -c Release -o /app/build
# publish project
FROM build AS publish
RUN dotnet publish "Example.csproj" -c Release -o /app/publish
# run app
FROM base AS final
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=publish /app/publish .
ENTRYPOINT ["dotnet", "Example.dll"]

Debian Linux DockerFiles

Debian 11 with .NET 6

# base runtime image (Debian 11 w/ .NET6 runtime)
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/aspnet:6.0 AS base
WORKDIR /app
# install necessary packages
RUN apt update \
    && apt install -y libgdiplus libxkbcommon-x11-0 libc6 libc6-dev libgtk2.0-0 libnss3 libatk-bridge2.0-0 libx11-xcb1 libxcb-dri3-0 libdrm-common libgbm1 libasound2 libxrender1 libfontconfig1 libxshmfence1
# update write permissions
RUN chmod 777 .
# base development image (Debian 11 w/ .NET6 SDK)
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:6.0 AS build
WORKDIR /src
# restore NuGet packages
COPY ["Example/Example.csproj", "Example/"]
RUN dotnet restore "Example/Example.csproj"
# build project
COPY . .
WORKDIR "/src/Example"
RUN dotnet build "Example.csproj" -c Release -o /app/build
# publish project
FROM build AS publish
RUN dotnet publish "Example.csproj" -c Release -o /app/publish
# run app
FROM base AS final
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=publish /app/publish .
ENTRYPOINT ["dotnet", "Example.dll"]

Debian 11 with .NET 5

# base runtime image (Debian 11 w/ .NET runtime)
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/aspnet:5.0-bullseye-slim AS base
WORKDIR /app
# install necessary packages
RUN apt update \
    && apt install -y libxkbcommon-x11-0 libc6 libc6-dev libgtk2.0-0 libnss3 libatk-bridge2.0-0 libx11-xcb1 libxcb-dri3-0 libdrm-common libgbm1 libasound2 libxrender1 libfontconfig1 libxshmfence1
# update write permissions
RUN chmod 777 .
# base development image (Debian 11 w/ .NET SDK)
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:5.0-bullseye-slim AS build
WORKDIR /src
# restore NuGet packages
COPY ["Example/Example.csproj", "Example/"]
RUN dotnet restore "Example/Example.csproj"
# build project
COPY . .
WORKDIR "/src/Example"
RUN dotnet build "Example.csproj" -c Release -o /app/build
# publish project
FROM build AS publish
RUN dotnet publish "Example.csproj" -c Release -o /app/publish
# run app
FROM base AS final
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=publish /app/publish .
ENTRYPOINT ["dotnet", "Example.dll"]

Debian 11 with .NET 3.1 LTS

# base runtime image (Debian 11 w/ .NET runtime)
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/aspnet:3.1-bullseye-slim AS base
WORKDIR /app
# install necessary packages
RUN apt update \
    && apt install -y libxkbcommon-x11-0 libc6 libc6-dev libgtk2.0-0 libnss3 libatk-bridge2.0-0 libx11-xcb1 libxcb-dri3-0 libdrm-common libgbm1 libasound2 libxrender1 libfontconfig1 libxshmfence1
# update write permissions
RUN chmod 777 .
# base development image (Debian 11 w/ .NET SDK)
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:5.0-bullseye-slim AS build
WORKDIR /src
# restore NuGet packages
COPY ["Example/Example.csproj", "Example/"]
RUN dotnet restore "Example/Example.csproj"
# build project
COPY . .
WORKDIR "/src/Example"
RUN dotnet build "Example.csproj" -c Release -o /app/build
# publish project
FROM build AS publish
RUN dotnet publish "Example.csproj" -c Release -o /app/publish
# run app
FROM base AS final
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=publish /app/publish .
ENTRYPOINT ["dotnet", "Example.dll"]

Debian 10 with .NET 5

# base runtime image (Debian 10 w/ .NET runtime)
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/aspnet:5.0 AS base
WORKDIR /app
# install necessary packages
RUN apt update \
    && apt install -y libc6 libc6-dev libgtk2.0-0 libnss3 libatk-bridge2.0-0 libx11-xcb1 libxcb-dri3-0 libdrm-common libgbm1 libasound2 libappindicator3-1 libxrender1 libfontconfig1 libxshmfence1
# update write permissions
RUN chmod 777 .
# base development image (Debian 10 w/ .NET SDK)
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:5.0 AS build
WORKDIR /src
# restore NuGet packages
COPY ["Example/Example.csproj", "Example/"]
RUN dotnet restore "Example/Example.csproj"
# build project
COPY . .
WORKDIR "/src/Example"
RUN dotnet build "Example.csproj" -c Release -o /app/build
# publish project
FROM build AS publish
RUN dotnet publish "Example.csproj" -c Release -o /app/publish
# run app
FROM base AS final
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=publish /app/publish .
ENTRYPOINT ["dotnet", "Example.dll"]

Debian 10 with .NET 3.1 LTS

# base runtime image (Debian 10 w/ .NET runtime)
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/aspnet:3.1 AS base
WORKDIR /app
# install necessary packages
RUN apt update \
    && apt install -y libc6 libc6-dev libgtk2.0-0 libnss3 libatk-bridge2.0-0 libx11-xcb1 libxcb-dri3-0 libdrm-common libgbm1 libasound2 libappindicator3-1 libxrender1 libfontconfig1 libxshmfence1
# update write permissions
RUN chmod 777 .
# base development image (Debian 10 w/ .NET SDK)
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:3.1 AS build
WORKDIR /src
# restore NuGet packages
COPY ["Example/Example.csproj", "Example/"]
RUN dotnet restore "Example/Example.csproj"
# build project
COPY . .
WORKDIR "/src/Example"
RUN dotnet build "Example.csproj" -c Release -o /app/build
# publish project
FROM build AS publish
RUN dotnet publish "Example.csproj" -c Release -o /app/publish
# run app
FROM base AS final
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=publish /app/publish .
ENTRYPOINT ["dotnet", "Example.dll"]

IronPDF Windows Docker Containers

Windows Docker Containers are becoming increasingly popular on Azure, as they give higher levels of performance and scalability, and give developers more permissions to configure instances.

IronPDF will actually perform more attractive text rendering within a Docker container (Windows or Linux) on Azure because of higher levels of access to graphics library and the virtual graphics card.

This article is a really great get-started guide. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/containers/overview?view=vs-2019

This is an example Windows container Dockerfile for .NET Core 3.1

# escape=`
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/windows/servercore:ltsc2016 AS baseOS
RUN powershell -Command [System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [System.Net.SecurityProtocolType]::Tls12; $ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'; $ProgressPreference = 'SilentlyContinue'; Invoke-WebRequest -UseBasicParsing -Uri https://dot.net/v1/dotnet-install.ps1 -OutFile dotnet-install.ps1; ./dotnet-install.ps1 -InstallDir '/Program Files/dotnet' -Channel 3.1 -Runtime dotnet; Remove-Item -Force dotnet-install.ps1 && setx /M PATH "%PATH%;C:\Program Files\dotnet"
COPY . .

FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/aspnet:3.1 AS base
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