How to Build Custom Apache Docker Images on RockyLinux and Alpine with Podman

Dockerfile Basics

A Dockerfile is a plain‑text configuration file that defines how to assemble a Docker image. It consists of a series of instruction lines, optionally preceded by comments starting with #. A typical Dockerfile includes four parts: base image information, maintainer metadata, image build commands, and the default command executed when a container starts.

Key Dockerfile Instructions

FROM – specifies the base image and must be the first instruction.

LABEL MAINTAINER – records maintainer contact information.

RUN – executes commands during image build, creating a new layer for each line.

CMD – defines the default command when the container runs (only one CMD is effective).

EXPOSE – declares which ports the container will listen on.

ENV – sets environment variables for later RUN steps and at runtime.

ADD – copies files or URLs into the image, automatically extracting tar archives.

COPY – copies files from the build context into the image (preferred for local files).

ENTRYPOINT – configures the container’s entry point; unlike CMD it cannot be overridden by docker run arguments.

VOLUME – creates a mount point for persistent data.

USER – sets the user (UID/GID) under which subsequent commands run.

WORKDIR – sets the working directory for RUN, CMD, ENTRYPOINT, COPY, and ADD.

ONBUILD – registers instructions that will be executed when the image is used as a base for another build.

Building an Apache Image on RockyLinux

First, create a project directory and download the required source tarballs.

# mkdir httpd && cd httpd
# touch Dockerfile
# mkdir files
# cd files
# wget https://downloads.apache.org/apr/apr-1.7.0.tar.gz \
       https://downloads.apache.org/apr/apr-util-1.6.1.tar.gz \
       https://downloads.apache.org/httpd/httpd-2.4.54.tar.gz
# echo -e "#!/bin/bash
sed -i '/^#ServerName/s/#//' /usr/local/apache/conf/httpd.conf
exec \"$@\"" > entrypoint.sh
# chmod +x entrypoint.sh

Then write the Dockerfile:

FROM rockylinux
LABEL MANTAINER "lvnanhai66 [email protected]"
ENV apache_version 2.4.54
ENV PATH /usr/local/apache/bin:$PATH

ADD files/apr-1.7.0.tar.gz /usr/src/
ADD files/apr-util-1.6.1.tar.gz /usr/src/
ADD files/httpd-${apache_version}.tar.gz /usr/src/
ADD files/entrypoint.sh /

RUN useradd -r -M -s /sbin/nologin apache && \
    cd /etc/yum.repos.d && rm -rf * && \
    curl -o CentOS-Base.repo https://mirrors.aliyun.com/repo/Centos-vault-8.5.2111.repo && \
    sed -i -e '/mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com/d' -e '/mirrors.aliyuncs.com/d' CentOS-Base.repo && \
    yum clean all && yum makecache && \
    yum -y install gcc gcc-c++ make openssl-devel pcre-devel expat-devel libtool && \
    cd /usr/src/apr-1.7.0 && ./configure --prefix=/usr/local/apr && make && make install && \
    cd /usr/src/apr-util-1.6.1 && ./configure --prefix=/usr/local/apr-util --with-apr=/usr/local/apr && make && make install && \
    cd /usr/src/httpd-${apache_version} && \
    ./configure --prefix=/usr/local/apache \
        --enable-so --enable-ssl --enable-cgi --enable-rewrite \
        --with-zlib --with-pcre \
        --with-apr=/usr/local/apr \
        --with-apr-util=/usr/local/apr-util \
        --enable-modules=most --enable-mpms-shared=all --with-mpm=prefork && \
    make && make install && \
    yum clean all && yum -y remove gcc gcc-c++ make && \
    rm -rf /tmp/* /usr/src/*

EXPOSE 80
WORKDIR /usr/local/apache
CMD ["/usr/local/apache/bin/httpd","-D","FOREGROUND"]
ENTRYPOINT ["/bin/bash","/entrypoint.sh"]

Build and test the image with Podman:

# podman build -t httpd:1.0 .
# podman run -d --name web -p 80:80 httpd:1.0
# curl localhost:80   # should return the default Apache test page

Tag and push the image to Docker Hub:

# podman tag httpd:1.0 docker.io/lvnanhai66/httpd:1.0
# podman login docker.io   # provide Docker Hub credentials
# podman push docker.io/lvnanhai66/httpd:1.0

Building a Minimal Alpine‑Based Apache Image

The Alpine variant aims for a small footprint (≈70 MB). The steps are analogous but use apk for package management.

# mkdir httpd && cd httpd
# touch Dockerfile && mkdir files && cd files
# wget https://downloads.apache.org/apr/apr-1.7.0.tar.gz \
       https://downloads.apache.org/apr/apr-util-1.6.1.tar.gz \
       https://downloads.apache.org/httpd/httpd-2.4.54.tar.gz
# echo -e "#!/bin/bash
sed -i '/^#ServerName/s/#//' /usr/local/apache/conf/httpd.conf
exec \"$@\"" > entrypoint.sh
# chmod +x entrypoint.sh
# cd ..

Alpine Dockerfile:

FROM alpine
LABEL MANTAINER "lvnanhai66 [email protected]"
ENV apr_version=1.7.0 apr_util_version=1.6.1 httpd_version=2.4.54
ADD files/* /tmp/

RUN sed -i 's/dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/mirrors.aliyun.com/g' /etc/apk/repositories && \
    apk update && \
    adduser -SHs /sbin/nologin apache && \
    apk add --no-cache gcc libc-dev make expat-dev pcre-dev openssl-dev libtool && \
    cd /tmp/apr-${apr_version} && ./configure --prefix=/usr/local/apr && make && make install && \
    cd /tmp/apr-util-${apr_util_version} && ./configure --prefix=/usr/local/apr-util --with-apr=/usr/local/apr && make && make install && \
    cd /tmp/httpd-${httpd_version} && \
    ./configure --prefix=/usr/local/apache \
        --enable-so --enable-ssl --enable-cgi --enable-rewrite \
        --with-zlib --with-pcre \
        --with-apr=/usr/local/apr \
        --with-apr-util=/usr/local/apr-util \
        --enable-modules=most --enable-mpms-shared=all --with-mpm=prefork && \
    make && make install && \
    mv /tmp/entrypoint.sh / && \
    apk del gcc make && rm -rf /tmp/* /var/cache/*

EXPOSE 80
WORKDIR /usr/local/apache
CMD ["/usr/local/apache/bin/httpd","-D","FOREGROUND"]
ENTRYPOINT ["/bin/sh","/entrypoint.sh"]

Build, run, and push the Alpine image:

# podman build -t httpd:alpine .
# podman run -d -p 80:80 httpd:alpine
# podman tag httpd:alpine docker.io/lvnanhai66/httpd:alpine
# podman push docker.io/lvnanhai66/httpd:alpine

Both images have been verified by pulling them on a clean host, running a container, and confirming that the default Apache page or a custom test page is served correctly.