Deploy SpringBoot Apps with IntelliJ IDEA’s Docker Plugin – Step‑by‑Step Guide

Plugin Activation

Enable the built‑in Docker plugin in IntelliJ IDEA settings.

Configure remote Docker connection information in the Docker settings; a "Connection successful" message confirms correct setup.

Open the Services panel, double‑click the Docker icon to connect and manage remote containers and images.

Image Management

Click the Images button, enter the image name and tag to download; IDEA provides auto‑completion.

Right‑click an image to create containers, view details, or delete it.

Use a Dockerfile to build a custom image, e.g., for the mall‑tiny project:

# Base image
FROM java:8
# Add the JAR file
ADD ./mall-tiny-1.0.0-SNAPSHOT.jar /mall-tiny-1.0.0-SNAPSHOT.jar
# Expose port 8080
EXPOSE 8080
# Run the JAR
ENTRYPOINT ["java", "-jar", "/mall-tiny-1.0.0-SNAPSHOT.jar"]
MAINTAINER macrozheng

Container Management

Right‑click an image to create a container directly.

Start required services such as MySQL and Redis before launching the application.

Adjust container configuration to match the original docker run command options.

docker run -p 8080:8080 --name mall-tiny \
  --link mysql:db \
  --link redis:redis \
  -e 'spring.profiles.active'=prod \
  -v /etc/localtime:/etc/localtime \
  -v /mydata/app/mall-tiny/logs:/var/logs \
  -d mall-tiny/mall-tiny:1.0.0-SNAPSHOT

View container logs in the Log tab and inspect environment variables, port mappings, or container IP via the IDE.

Execute commands inside the container using docker exec -it from the IDE.

Docker Compose Support

Create a docker-compose.yml file to define services; for example:

version: '3'
services:
  redis:
    image: redis:5
    container_name: redis-tiny
    command: redis-server --appendonly yes
    volumes:
      - /mydata/redis-tiny/data:/data
    ports:
      - 6379:6379
  mall-tiny:
    image: mall-tiny/mall-tiny:1.0.0-SNAPSHOT
    container_name: mall-tiny
    links:
      - redis:redis
    depends_on:
      - redis
    ports:
      - 8080:8080
    environment:
      - 'spring.profiles.active=prod'
      - 'spring.datasource.url=jdbc:mysql://192.168.3.105:3306/mall_tiny?useUnicode=true&characterEncoding=utf-8&serverTimezone=Asia/Shanghai&useSSL=false'
      - 'spring.redis.host=redis'
    volumes:
      - /etc/localtime:/etc/localtime
      - /mydata/app/mall-tiny/logs:/var/logs

Click the docker-compose.yml file in the IDE to deploy the application to the remote server.

After deployment, access the Swagger UI at http://<remote‑host>:8080/swagger-ui/.

Conclusion

IntelliJ IDEA’s official Docker plugin enables remote Docker image and container management, as well as Docker Compose deployment, without using the command line, making SpringBoot application packaging, deployment, and execution much more convenient.

References

Official documentation: https://www.jetbrains.com/help/idea/docker.html