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In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to build an HTTPD webserver image on top of a CentOS 7 base image using the Docker commit method. By the end, you’ll have a reusable image that includes your custom Apache configuration and index page.

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1. Pull the CentOS 7 Base Image

Start by pulling the official CentOS 7 image from Docker Hub: 
docker image pull centos:7
You should see output like: 
7: Pulling from library/centos
75f829a71a1c: Pull complete
Digest: sha256:19a79828ca2505eae0ff38c2f39901f4826737295157cc5212b7a372cd2b
Status: Downloaded newer image for centos:7
docker.io/library/centos:7
Verify it’s available locally: 
docker image ls
Example: 
REPOSITORY   TAG   IMAGE ID       CREATED        SIZE
centos       7     7e6257c9f8d8   2 months ago   203MB

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2. Create and Start a Container

  1. Create a container named test from the CentOS 7 image: 
    docker container create --name test centos:7
  2. Start it: 
    docker container start test
  3. Attach an interactive shell: 
    docker container exec -it test /bin/bash

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3. Install HTTPD and Customize the Web Page

Inside the container shell: 
yum -y update
yum install -y httpd
echo "<h1>Hello from KodeKloud</h1>" > /var/www/html/index.html
This installs Apache HTTPD and replaces the default index page.
You can test the Apache service within the container before committing:
httpd -k start
curl http://localhost
httpd -k stop

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4. Commit the Container to a New Image

  1. Exit and stop the container: 
    exit
docker container stop test
  2. Review container status: 
    docker container ls -l
  3. Commit with metadata and a default CMD. Here’s an overview of common flags:
FlagDescriptionExample
-aSpecify the author-a "Yogesh Raheja"
-mAdd a commit message-m "Add HTTPD and custom index"
-cSet a Dockerfile instruction (e.g., CMD)-c 'CMD ["httpd","-D","FOREGROUND"]'
  1. Run docker commit: 
    docker container commit \
  -a "Yogesh Raheja" \
  -m "Add HTTPD and custom index" \
  -c 'CMD ["httpd", "-D", "FOREGROUND"]' \
  test webtest:v1
You’ll get a new image ID, for example: 
sha256:9cd11553a2e7...
Verify the image list: 
docker image ls
Expected: 
REPOSITORY   TAG   IMAGE ID       CREATED         SIZE
webtest      v1    9cd11553a2e7   30 seconds ago  328MB
centos       7     7e6257c9f8d8   2 months ago    203MB

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5. Test Your Custom Image

Launch a container from webtest:v1, mapping port 80: 
docker container run -d --name webtesting -p 80:80 webtest:v1
Confirm it’s running: 
docker container ls -l
Open http://<DockerHostIP> in your browser. You should see: 
Hello from KodeKloud
This verifies that your HTTPD configuration and custom index page are baked into the image.

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6. Tag and Push to Docker Hub

  1. Tag the image for your repository (replace <your-dockerhub-username>): 
    docker image tag webtest:v1 <your-dockerhub-username>/codekloud-webtest:v1
  2. Log in to Docker Hub: 
    docker login
  3. Push the tagged image: 
    docker push <your-dockerhub-username>/codekloud-webtest:v1
Visit your Docker Hub repository to confirm the v1 tag is published.
Congratulations! You’ve successfully created and published a custom Docker image using the docker commit method.

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References

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