Docker for OpenCart Local Development

Docker has revolutionized the development process, allowing you to create isolated environments identical to production. In this article, we'll set up a full-fledged Docker environment for OpenCart.

Why Docker?

• Consistency — same environment for all developers
• Isolation — different PHP versions for different projects
• Simplicity — one docker-compose up starts everything
• Production-ready — easy to migrate to server

Project Structure

opencart-docker/
├── docker/
│   ├── nginx/
│   │   └── default.conf
│   └── php/
│       └── Dockerfile
├── src/
│   └── (OpenCart files)
├── docker-compose.yml
└── .env

Docker Compose Configuration

# docker-compose.yml
version: '3.8'

services:
  nginx:
    image: nginx:alpine
    ports:
      - "80:80"
    volumes:
      - ./src:/var/www/html
      - ./docker/nginx/default.conf:/etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf
    depends_on:
      - php
    networks:
      - opencart

  php:
    build:
      context: ./docker/php
    volumes:
      - ./src:/var/www/html
    environment:
      - PHP_MEMORY_LIMIT=256M
    networks:
      - opencart

  mysql:
    image: mysql:8.0
    environment:
      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: ${DB_ROOT_PASSWORD}
      MYSQL_DATABASE: ${DB_DATABASE}
      MYSQL_USER: ${DB_USERNAME}
      MYSQL_PASSWORD: ${DB_PASSWORD}
    volumes:
      - mysql_data:/var/lib/mysql
    ports:
      - "3306:3306"
    networks:
      - opencart

  redis:
    image: redis:alpine
    ports:
      - "6379:6379"
    networks:
      - opencart

  mailhog:
    image: mailhog/mailhog
    ports:
      - "1025:1025"
      - "8025:8025"
    networks:
      - opencart

networks:
  opencart:

volumes:
  mysql_data:

PHP Dockerfile

# docker/php/Dockerfile
FROM php:8.2-fpm

# Install dependencies
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
    libpng-dev \
    libjpeg-dev \
    libfreetype6-dev \
    libzip-dev \
    unzip \
    git \
    && docker-php-ext-configure gd --with-freetype --with-jpeg \
    && docker-php-ext-install -j$(nproc) \
        gd \
        mysqli \
        pdo_mysql \
        zip \
        opcache

# Redis extension
RUN pecl install redis && docker-php-ext-enable redis

# Composer
COPY --from=composer:latest /usr/bin/composer /usr/bin/composer

# PHP configuration
RUN echo "memory_limit=256M" > /usr/local/etc/php/conf.d/opencart.ini \
    && echo "upload_max_filesize=50M" >> /usr/local/etc/php/conf.d/opencart.ini \
    && echo "post_max_size=50M" >> /usr/local/etc/php/conf.d/opencart.ini

WORKDIR /var/www/html

Nginx Configuration

# docker/nginx/default.conf
server {
    listen 80;
    server_name localhost;
    root /var/www/html;
    index index.php;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ @opencart;
    }

    location @opencart {
        rewrite ^/(.+)$ /index.php?_route_=$1 last;
    }

    location ~ \.php$ {
        fastcgi_pass php:9000;
        fastcgi_index index.php;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
        include fastcgi_params;
    }

    location ~* \.(jpg|jpeg|png|gif|ico|css|js)$ {
        expires 30d;
    }
}

.env File

# .env
DB_ROOT_PASSWORD=root_password
DB_DATABASE=opencart
DB_USERNAME=opencart
DB_PASSWORD=opencart_password

Running

# Build and start
docker-compose up -d --build

# View logs
docker-compose logs -f

# Stop
docker-compose down

# Remove with volumes
docker-compose down -v

Docker is not just a tool, it's a development philosophy. "Works on my machine" is no longer an excuse.

— Solomon Hykes, Docker creator

Useful Commands

# Enter PHP container
docker-compose exec php bash

# Execute command in container
docker-compose exec php php -v

# MySQL console
docker-compose exec mysql mysql -u opencart -p

# Clean everything
docker system prune -a

Conclusion

Now you have a full-fledged Docker environment for OpenCart development. This same environment can be used on any computer and easily adapted for production.