Docker Build Learning Paths

Self-paced reading paths through our tutorials and reference pages, organised by goal rather than by topic.

Last reviewed on 2026-05-02

If you are reading the site for the first time, the volume of pages can be hard to navigate. The three paths below are ordered reading lists. Work through one path top to bottom and you will have a coherent view of that area, rather than a jumble of disconnected pages. Every link below is to existing free content on this site.

Path 1 — Beginner: build your first solid image

For developers new to Docker images. Goal: end up with a Dockerfile you understand line-by-line, builds that finish in seconds for small changes, and a clear mental model of layers.

  1. Docker build basics — start here
  2. FROM reference · RUN · COPY · CMD — the four instructions you cannot avoid
  3. WORKDIR · ENV · ARG — make builds configurable
  4. Build context — what gets sent to the daemon
  5. Layer caching — why your second build is faster
  6. Try the Dockerfile Optimiser on the Dockerfile you just wrote

Path 2 — Optimisation: smaller images, faster builds

For developers who already have a working Dockerfile and want to make builds faster, images smaller, and CI cheaper.

  1. Docker caching — what invalidates a layer
  2. Optimising Docker layers
  3. Multi-stage builds · reference
  4. Five advanced caching techniques — BuildKit cache mounts and remote caches
  5. Worked example: optimising microservices pipelines
  6. Image size calculator · Layer visualiser

Path 3 — Security: hardened, production-ready images

For teams shipping to production. Goal: minimal attack surface, no root, scanned images, and a build process that doesn't leak secrets.

  1. Securing Docker builds
  2. Security best practices for Docker images
  3. FROM reference — pinning, distroless, slim variants
  4. New Dockerfile features — heredocs, build secrets, BuildKit
  5. Security scanner

What's not here yet

Topics we plan to expand into are listed openly: cross-platform builds with docker buildx, base-image selection criteria, SBOM and provenance attestations, and reproducible builds. If one of those is the path you wish existed, tell us — we factor reader requests into the editorial calendar.