1. IronOCR
  2. How-Tos
  3. Docker Setup Guide

Setting up IronOCR in Docker Containers

Want to OCR Images or Pdf Files in C# ?

IronOCR now fully supports Docker, including Azure Docker Containers for Linux and Windows.

Why use Docker?

Docker enables developers to easily pack, ship, and run any application as a lightweight, portable, self-sufficient container, which can run virtually anywhere.

IronOCR and Linux Primer

If Docker with .NET is new to you, we recommend this excellent article on setting up Docker debugging and integration with Visual Studio projects. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/containers/edit-and-refresh?view=vs-2019

We also highly recommend you read our IronOCR Linux Setup and Compatibility Guide

We recommend the latest 64 bit Linux OS's below for "easy configuration" of IronPDF.

  • Ubuntu 20
  • Ubuntu 18
  • Debian 11
  • Debian 10 [Currently the Microsoft Azure Default Linux Distro]

We recommend using Microsoft's Official Docker Images . Other Linux distros are supported in part, but may require manual configuration using apt-get. See our "Linux Manual Setup" guide

Working Docker files for Ubuntu and Debian are included In this document:

IronOCR Linux Docker Installation Essentials

Use Our NuGet Package

We recommend using the IronOcr NuGet Package it works when developing on Windows , macOS and Linux.

PM> Install-Package IronOcr

Ubuntu Linux DockerFiles

Ubuntu 20 with .NET 5

# base runtime image (Ubuntu 20 w/ .NET runtime)
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/runtime:5.0-focal AS base
WORKDIR /app
# install necessary packages

RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y apt-utils libgdiplus libc6-dev

# base development image (Ubuntu 20 w/ .NET SDK)
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:5.0-focal AS build
WORKDIR /src
# restore NuGet packages
COPY ["Example/Example.csproj", "Example/"]
RUN dotnet restore "Example/Example.csproj"
# build project
COPY . .
WORKDIR "/src/Example"
RUN dotnet build "Example.csproj" -c Release -o /app/build
# publish project
FROM build AS publish
RUN dotnet publish "Example.csproj" -c Release -o /app/publish
# run app
FROM base AS final
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=publish /app/publish .
ENTRYPOINT ["dotnet", "Example.dll"]

Ubuntu 20 with .NET 3.1 LTS

# base runtime image (Ubuntu 20 w/ .NET runtime)
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/runtime:3.1-focal AS base
WORKDIR /app
# install necessary packages

RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y apt-utils libgdiplus libc6-dev

# base development image (Ubuntu 20 w/ .NET SDK)
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:3.1-focal AS build
WORKDIR /src
# restore NuGet packages
COPY ["Example/Example.csproj", "Example/"]
RUN dotnet restore "Example/Example.csproj"
# build project
COPY . .
WORKDIR "/src/Example"
RUN dotnet build "Example.csproj" -c Release -o /app/build
# publish project
FROM build AS publish
RUN dotnet publish "Example.csproj" -c Release -o /app/publish
# run app
FROM base AS final
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=publish /app/publish .
ENTRYPOINT ["dotnet", "Example.dll"]

Ubuntu 18 with .NET 3.1 LTS

# base runtime image (Ubuntu 18 w/ .NET runtime)
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/runtime:3.1-bionic AS base
WORKDIR /app
# install necessary packages

RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y apt-utils libgdiplus libc6-dev

# base development image (Ubuntu 18 w/ .NET SDK)
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:3.1-bionic AS build
WORKDIR /src
# restore NuGet packages
COPY ["Example/Example.csproj", "Example/"]
RUN dotnet restore "Example/Example.csproj"
# build project
COPY . .
WORKDIR "/src/Example"
RUN dotnet build "Example.csproj" -c Release -o /app/build
# publish project
FROM build AS publish
RUN dotnet publish "Example.csproj" -c Release -o /app/publish
# run app
FROM base AS final
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=publish /app/publish .
ENTRYPOINT ["dotnet", "Example.dll"]

Debian Linux DockerFiles

Debian 11 with .NET 5

# base runtime image (Debian 10 w/ .NET runtime)
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/aspnet:5.0-bullseye-slim AS base
WORKDIR /app
# install necessary packages

RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y apt-utils libgdiplus libc6-dev

# base development image (Debian 10 w/ .NET SDK)
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:5.0-bullseye-slim AS build
WORKDIR /src
# restore NuGet packages
COPY ["Example/Example.csproj", "Example/"]
RUN dotnet restore "Example/Example.csproj"
# build project
COPY . .
WORKDIR "/src/Example"
RUN dotnet build "Example.csproj" -c Release -o /app/build
# publish project
FROM build AS publish
RUN dotnet publish "Example.csproj" -c Release -o /app/publish
# run app
FROM base AS final
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=publish /app/publish .
ENTRYPOINT ["dotnet", "Example.dll"]

Debian 11 with .NET 3.1 LTS

# base runtime image (Debian 10 w/ .NET runtime)
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/aspnet:3.1-bullseye-slim AS base
WORKDIR /app
# install necessary packages

RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y apt-utils libgdiplus libc6-dev

# base development image (Debian 10 w/ .NET SDK)
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:3.1-bullseye-slim AS build
WORKDIR /src
# restore NuGet packages
COPY ["Example/Example.csproj", "Example/"]
RUN dotnet restore "Example/Example.csproj"
# build project
COPY . .
WORKDIR "/src/Example"
RUN dotnet build "Example.csproj" -c Release -o /app/build
# publish project
FROM build AS publish
RUN dotnet publish "Example.csproj" -c Release -o /app/publish
# run app
FROM base AS final
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=publish /app/publish .
ENTRYPOINT ["dotnet", "Example.dll"]

Debian 10 with .NET 5

# base runtime image (Debian 10 w/ .NET runtime)
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/runtime:5.0 AS base
WORKDIR /app
# install necessary packages

RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y apt-utils libgdiplus libc6-dev

# base development image (Debian 10 w/ .NET SDK)
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:5.0 AS build
WORKDIR /src
# restore NuGet packages
COPY ["Example/Example.csproj", "Example/"]
RUN dotnet restore "Example/Example.csproj"
# build project
COPY . .
WORKDIR "/src/Example"
RUN dotnet build "Example.csproj" -c Release -o /app/build
# publish project
FROM build AS publish
RUN dotnet publish "Example.csproj" -c Release -o /app/publish
# run app
FROM base AS final
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=publish /app/publish .
ENTRYPOINT ["dotnet", "Example.dll"]

Debian 10 with .NET 3.1 LTS

# base runtime image (Debian 10 w/ .NET runtime)
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/runtime:3.1 AS base
WORKDIR /app
# install necessary packages

RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y apt-utils libgdiplus libc6-dev

# base development image (Debian 10 w/ .NET SDK)
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:3.1 AS build
WORKDIR /src
# restore NuGet packages
COPY ["Example/Example.csproj", "Example/"]
RUN dotnet restore "Example/Example.csproj"
# build project
COPY . .
WORKDIR "/src/Example"
RUN dotnet build "Example.csproj" -c Release -o /app/build
# publish project
FROM build AS publish
RUN dotnet publish "Example.csproj" -c Release -o /app/publish
# run app
FROM base AS final
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=publish /app/publish .
ENTRYPOINT ["dotnet", "Example.dll"]