dockerfilegraph

A command-line tool that visualizes multi-stage Dockerfiles as dependency graphs.

Uses Graphviz to generate visual representations of Docker build processes, helping you understand build dependencies, document architecture, and debug complex multi-stage builds.

What You Get

The generated graph includes:

Nodes:

• All build stages
• Default build target (highlighted in grey)
• External images (with dashed borders)

Edges:

• FROM ... dependencies → solid line with full arrow
• COPY --from=... dependencies → dashed line with empty arrow
• RUN --mount=(.*)from=... dependencies → dotted line with diamond arrow

Supports multiple output formats (PDF, SVG, PNG), a legend, and layout customization options.

Example Output

With Legend (--legend)

With Layer Visualization (--layers)

Complex Multi-stage Build (--concentrate --nodesep 0.3 --unflatten 4)

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• A multi-stage Dockerfile

Installation and Usage

Run dockerfilegraph in your project directory to generate a Dockerfile.pdf with your build graph.

Docker

• Alpine-based (Graphviz 12.2) - Default:

  docker run --rm --user "$(id -u):$(id -g)" \
    -v "$(pwd)":/workspace -w /workspace \
    ghcr.io/patrickhoefler/dockerfilegraph

• Ubuntu-based (Graphviz 2.42):

  docker run --rm --user "$(id -u):$(id -g)" \
    -v "$(pwd)":/workspace -w /workspace \
    ghcr.io/patrickhoefler/dockerfilegraph:ubuntu

Homebrew

brew install patrickhoefler/tap/dockerfilegraph
dockerfilegraph

toolctl

Requirements: Graphviz installed locally

toolctl install dockerfilegraph
dockerfilegraph

Build from Source

• Native Build

  Requirements: make, Go and Graphviz

  make build
  ./dockerfilegraph

• Container Build (Alpine)

  Requirements: make, Go and Docker

  make build-docker-image-alpine
  docker run \
    --rm \
    --user "$(id -u):$(id -g)" \
    --workdir /workspace \
    --volume "$(pwd)":/workspace \
    dockerfilegraph:alpine

• Container Build (Ubuntu)

  Requirements: make, Go and Docker

  make build-docker-image-ubuntu
  docker run \
    --rm \
    --user "$(id -u):$(id -g)" \
    --workdir /workspace \
    --volume "$(pwd)":/workspace \
    dockerfilegraph:ubuntu

Configuration Options

Common Flags:

• --output svg|png|pdf - Choose your output format
• --legend - Add a legend explaining the notation
• --layers - Show all Docker layers

All Available Options:

❯ dockerfilegraph --help
dockerfilegraph visualizes your multi-stage Dockerfile.
It creates a visual graph representation of the build process.

Usage:
  dockerfilegraph [flags]

Flags:
  -c, --concentrate             concentrate the edges (default false)
  -d, --dpi uint                dots per inch of the PNG export (default 96)
  -e, --edgestyle               style of the graph edges, one of: default, solid (default default)
  -f, --filename string         name of the Dockerfile (default "Dockerfile")
  -h, --help                    help for dockerfilegraph
      --layers                  display all layers (default false)
      --legend                  add a legend (default false)
  -m, --max-label-length uint   maximum length of the node labels, must be at least 4 (default 20)
  -n, --nodesep float           minimum space between two adjacent nodes in the same rank (default 1)
  -o, --output                  output file format, one of: canon, dot, pdf, png, raw, svg (default pdf)
  -r, --ranksep float           minimum separation between ranks (default 0.5)
  -u, --unflatten uint          stagger length of leaf edges between [1,u] (default 0)
      --version                 display the version of dockerfilegraph

Contributing

Found a bug or have a feature request? Open an issue or submit a pull request.

License

MIT