docker-node-serverless

Minimal, repeatable build & deployment container for AWS Serverless Framework services. Intended for CI environments like Bitbucket Pipelines, AWS CodeBuild, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, etc.

Baseline runtime: Node.js 22 (Alpine) — AWS Lambda supports nodejs22.x (see: Lambda runtimes).

What's Included

Component	Details
Node.js	22 (Alpine base image)
Serverless Framework	v4.18.2 (pinned via SERVERLESS_VERSION ENV)
AWS CLI v2	Alpine package install
Package managers	npm (bundled), pnpm (global), Yarn (bundled)
Python 3 + pip	For plugins / build tooling needing Python
Shell & utils	bash, less, groff, ca-certificates
User	Non-root serverless (UID 1001), WORKDIR /app

Image Tags / Branch Mapping

Node Line	Branch / Tag	Status
22	22.x	Recommended (current focus)
20	20.x	Still supported (earlier Lambda support window)
18	18.x	Approaching end of support
16	16.x	Deprecated (legacy only)

master tracks the active major (Node 22). Pin a major tag (22.x) for deterministic CI builds.

Quick Start

Pull the image:

docker pull jch254/docker-node-serverless:22

Check versions:

docker run --rm jch254/docker-node-serverless:22 serverless --version
docker run --rm jch254/docker-node-serverless:22 node -v

Deploy (mount your service directory):

docker run --rm -it \
  -v "$PWD":/app \
  -w /app \
  -e AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID \
  -e AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY \
  -e AWS_REGION=us-east-1 \
  jch254/docker-node-serverless:22 \
  serverless deploy --stage dev

Bitbucket Pipelines Example

pipelines:
  default:
    - step:
        image: jch254/docker-node-serverless:22
        caches:
          - node
        script:
          - pnpm install # or npm ci / yarn install
          - serverless deploy --stage dev

GitHub Actions Example

name: Deploy
on: [push]
jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    container: jch254/docker-node-serverless:22
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - name: Install deps
        run: pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
      - name: Deploy
        env:
          AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID }}
          AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: ${{ secrets.AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY }}
          AWS_REGION: us-east-1
        run: serverless deploy --stage prod

AWS CodeBuild buildspec.yml Example

version: 0.2
phases:
  install:
    runtime-versions: {}
  build:
    commands:
      - pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
      - serverless deploy --stage prod

Package Managers

Use whichever you prefer:

# pnpm
pnpm install
serverless package

# npm
npm ci
serverless deploy

# Yarn
yarn install --frozen-lockfile
serverless remove

AWS Credentials

Provide credentials via environment variables (AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID, AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY, optional AWS_SESSION_TOKEN, AWS_REGION) or mount a credentials directory:

docker run --rm \
  -v $HOME/.aws:/home/serverless/.aws:ro \
  -v $PWD:/app -w /app \
  jch254/docker-node-serverless:22 serverless info

Non-Root User & Permissions

The image runs as serverless (UID 1001). If you encounter permission issues writing to a bind mount created by root (e.g., on some CI agents), you can temporarily override the user:

docker run --rm -u 0 jch254/docker-node-serverless:22 chown -R 1001:1001 /app

Or run a one-off global install:

docker run --rm -u 0 jch254/docker-node-serverless:22 npm install -g serverless-plugin-aws-alerts

Extending the Image

FROM jch254/docker-node-serverless:22
RUN npm install -g serverless-plugin-aws-alerts

Build:

docker build -t my/serverless-image:22 .

Upgrading Notes (Node 20 -> 22, Serverless 3 -> 4)

Review the following when upgrading:

• Update any runtime fields in serverless.yml to nodejs22.x (if not deploying via container images).
• Serverless v4 drops deprecated CLI flags—remove legacy options (e.g. old --aws-s3-accelerate if used).
• Rebuild native dependencies (node-gyp) to target Node 22 ABI if packaging layers/binaries.
• Verify plugins are compatible; update to latest maintained versions.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Resolution
EACCES on write to /app	Ensure host directory ownership or run with -u 0 briefly to fix perms
AWS auth errors	Confirm env vars, or mount ~/.aws with correct profile
Plugin missing system libs	Create derived image adding apk add <lib>
Slow cold start bundle size	Use serverless package + prune dev deps, leverage layers

Reference Links

• Serverless Framework: https://www.serverless.com/
• AWS Lambda runtimes: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/lambda/latest/dg/lambda-runtimes.html
• pnpm: https://pnpm.io/

Contributing

PRs welcome: keep layers minimal, versions pinned where helpful, and document added tools.

License

MIT

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Feedback & improvements welcome.