Dockerizing a REST API with JWT Authentication...

In Episode 3, we understood the need for JWT authentication and how to implement it in a REST API. link

Everything works well on your own laptop/machine.

But what if you and your friend want to work on the same project? For example:

• You are working on complex API logic.
• Your friend is optimizing database efficiency.

You need a way to ensure that both of you run the API in the same environment, without worrying about dependency conflicts.

The best solution? Dockerizing the API.

With Docker, you can package your code and dependencies into a Docker image, push it to a container registry (like Docker Hub), and then both of you can pull and run the same image, ensuring consistency across machines.

However, for code collaboration, you still need Git to manage changes. [ will see it in upcoming episodes :) ]

What is Docker?

Docker is a containerization platform that allows developers to package applications along with their dependencies into a single unit called a container. This ensures that the application runs consistently across different environments, eliminating the classic "it works on my machine" problem.

Why Use Docker for a REST API?

When developing a REST API, you may run into issues such as:

• Dependency conflicts between different environments (local, staging, production)
• Inconsistent setups between developers working on the same project
• Difficulty in deploying and scaling the API

Using Docker solves these issues by:

Providing isolated environments for running the API

Ensuring consistency across development, testing, and production

Simplifying deployment with a single image that contains everything needed

Making scaling easier using container orchestration tools like Kubernetes

Now, let's add Docker support to our REST API project.

Step 1: Create a Dockerfile

The Dockerfile defines how to build our API as a Docker container. Below is an example for a Python-based REST API:

# Use official Python image as base
FROM python:3.9

# Set working directory in the container
WORKDIR /app

# Copy the application files to the container
COPY . .

# Install dependencies
RUN pip install -r requirements.txt

# Expose the application port (assuming it runs on port 5000)
EXPOSE 5000

# Command to run the API
CMD ["python", "app.py"]        

Step 2: Create a .dockerignore File

We don't want unnecessary files inside our Docker image, so we create a .dockerignore file:

__pycache__/
venv/
.env
*.pyc        

Step 3: Build the Docker Image

Run the following command to build the Docker image:

docker build -t my-rest-api         

Step 4: Run the API in a Docker Container

Once the image is built, you can run the container with:

docker run -p 5000:5000 my-rest-api        

Now, your REST API is running inside a Docker container!

Step 5: Testing the API

You can now test your API using Postman.

Happy coding!