Building a Custom Docker Image with Plugins for Apache Answer Suggest Best Practices?

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Hi everyone,

I’m Mark Pousee, and I’m working on customizing my Apache Answer deployment. Right now, I'm using the official Docker images with plugins installed manually, but I’d love to streamline this into a custom Docker build so everything (including plugins) is baked into the image. This would make deployments a lot cleaner and version-controlled.

Here’s what I’ve tried so far:

Created a Dockerfile that pulls the official image and uses RUN commands to install plugins.

  • Uploaded that image to my registry and deployed it—but ran into some mysterious issues with plugin loading and compatibility.

  • Considered directly modifying the release artifacts, but worried about future compatibility and upgrades.

So I'm curious:

  • Has anyone built a custom Docker image with plugins baked in, and if so, how did you manage plugin compatibility across versions?

  • Are there recommended approaches—like copying plugin JARs into a specific directory, using init scripts, or leveraging mounting mechanisms?

  • Any tips on how to audit plugin changes or ensure smooth upgrades across environments (e.g., dev staging ➔ production)?

I know a few folks have asked similar questions—like about building with plugins or running on Kubernetes—but I'd love to hear real-world Docker strategies that work and avoid runtime surprises.

Thanks so much for any advice you can share!
Mark Pousee

1 Answers

Has anyone built a custom Docker image with plugins baked in, and if so, how did you manage plugin compatibility across versions?

Maybe you can specify the plugin version. The version number ensures that you are pulling a fixed version.

answer build --with github.com/apache/answer-plugins/[email protected]

https://answer.apache.org/docs/plugins/#using-official-plugins

Are there recommended approaches—like copying plugin JARs into a specific directory, using init scripts, or leveraging mounting mechanisms?

No. Using the Docker image.

Any tips on how to audit plugin changes or ensure smooth upgrades across environments (e.g., dev ➔ staging ➔ production)?

Use the latest Apache Answer version and try to update when the plugin is released.