This repo is a starting point for others who wish to build a Nest app with minimal footprint. Bundling dependencies with Webpack, and containerized for Docker.

The Alpine variant of Node.js - Docker base image is being used for minimal footprint. Node.js v12 has improved startup times over an already performant startup process. This enables Nest to be an excellent solution for a microservice architecture. Allowing for efficient spinning up of new Kubernetes pods to meet compute demands, and disposed as necessary. Written in Typescript, Nest allows for a more familiar, and declarative development experience for writing modern web services. Check out the official docs to learn more.

This repo demonstrates the minimal amount needed to integrate a bundling system and containerize the app as a Docker image. Though for commercial projects, I would strongly suggest using a project management tool like Nx, by the company Nrwl. Getting Started with Nx. It makes full stack development with Nest simple. Nest schematics even work with Angular Console - VS Code Extension, with zero configuration needed.

This repo is produced from a fresh nest new command, using nest-cli, with minimal modifications. Currently there are some intricacies with bundling dependencies for a Nest app. (Issue: #1706) Comments are included in the Dockerfile and webpack.config.json for clarification. This repo addresses the known issues for you. 🥂

The following packages were added to the default package.json.

webpack@latest
webpack-cli@latest
ts-loader@latest
tsconfig-paths-webpack-plugin@latest  # For targeting "tsconfig.build.json"

3 scripts have been added to the package.json

# Bundle with webpack
npm run build:prod

# Build the docker image
npm run docker:build

# Run the docker image
npm run docker:run

For containerization, ensure your app uses the port from the environment if it exists.

"main.ts"

import { NestFactory } from '@nestjs/core';
import { AppModule } from './app.module';

async function bootstrap() {
  const app = await NestFactory.create(AppModule);

  // For Docker containerization
  const PORT = process.env.PORT || 3000;
  await app.listen(PORT);

  console.log(`Server is running at http://localhost:${PORT}`);
}
bootstrap();