Why Production Drupal Projects Require Custom Docker Images

A blog post by Mathieu LE CAIN examines why the official Drupal Docker image can create challenges in production environments, particularly when projects require precise control over dependencies and infrastructure.

One issue is missing dependencies. The official image does not include many PHP extensions or third-party libraries required by real-world Drupal applications, forcing teams to extend the image with custom builds. This reduces the benefit of using a pre-configured “all-in-one” solution and introduces additional maintenance complexity.

Version control presents another constraint. The image couples Drupal core and PHP versions in a way that limits flexibility, making it difficult to select exact combinations required for stable production environments. The article also highlights the risk of mixing codebases when teams build Drupal with Composer and copy it into an image that already contains core, potentially leading to conflicts and deployment failures.

The post concludes that custom Docker images provide a more reliable approach by giving teams full control over dependencies, build processes, and versioning. Rather than relying on convenience, this model supports predictable deployments and reduces long-term maintenance risks in Drupal infrastructure.