Run jar file in docker image

This may not be quite what you asked, but if you just need to run a JAR (rather than that being just one part of a larger custom container) I like this approach of mapping a volume/folder to the JAR and running it using a standard upstream image:

docker run --rm -it -v /home/me/folderHoldingJar:/home:Z java:latest /bin/bash -c '/usr/bin/java -jar /home/theJarFile.jar'

There is even some additional args you can add if the JAR needs to display a GUI.


There is a difference between images and containers.

  • Images will be built ONCE
  • You can start containers from Images

In your case:

Change your image:

FROM anapsix/alpine-java
MAINTAINER myNAME 
COPY testprj-1.0-SNAPSHOT.jar /home/testprj-1.0-SNAPSHOT.jar
CMD ["java","-jar","/home/testprj-1.0-SNAPSHOT.jar"]

Build your image:

docker build -t imageName .

Now invoke your program inside a container:

docker run --name myProgram imageName

Now restart your program by restarting the container:

docker restart myProgram

Your program changed? Rebuild the image!:

docker rmi imageName
docker build -t imageName .