Refreshing Your UI Without Stopping or Removing the Container: A Guide to Docker and React

In today's fast-paced world, users expect web applications to be responsive and up-to-date. This means that your UI needs to be refreshed regularly to ensure a smooth user experience. However, stopping and removing containers can be time-consuming and may lead to downtime for your application. In this blog post, we'll discuss how to refresh your UI without stopping or removing the container using Docker and React.

Docker

Docker is a platform that allows you to build, ship, and run distributed applications. It provides a way to package your application and its dependencies into a container, which can then be run on any system that has Docker installed. This makes it easy to deploy your application to different environments, such as development, testing, and production.

React

React is a JavaScript library for building user interfaces. It allows you to create reusable components that can be easily integrated into your application. React is popular due to its simplicity, performance, and flexibility.

The Command

The command you provided is as follows:

docker run -p 5173:5173 -v "$(pwd):/app" -v /app/node_modules  react-docker-v1

Let's break down each element of the command:

• docker run: This command starts a new container from an image.
• -p 5173:5173: This flag maps port 5173 on the host to port 5173 in the container. This allows you to access the container's port from the outside world.
• -v "$(pwd):/app": This flag mounts the current directory ($(pwd)) into the container at the path /app. This allows you to update your application's code without having to copy it into the container every time you make changes.
• -v /app/node_modules: This flag mounts the node_modules directory from the container's working directory into the host's /app/node_modules directory. This ensures that your application's dependencies are always up-to-date.
• react-docker-v1: This is the name of the Docker image you're using. It should be replaced with the name of the image you're using for your application.

How It Works

When you run this command, it starts a new container from the react-docker-v1 image. The container is mapped to port 5173 on the host, allowing you to access your application from the outside world. The current directory ($(pwd)) is mounted into the container at the path /app, allowing you to update your application's code without having to copy it into the container every time you make changes. The node_modules directory from the container's working directory is also mounted into the host's /app/node_modules directory, ensuring that your application's dependencies are always up-to-date.

Conclusion

By using Docker and React together, you can refresh your UI without stopping or removing the container. This allows you to keep your application running smoothly and ensures a great user experience. With the command provided, you can update your application's code and dependencies without having to stop or remove the container, making it easy to maintain and deploy your application.