Canonical Finally Discovers "--no-install-recommends" Is Worthwhile For Docker

In an official Ubuntu.com blog post they announced their Ubuntu Docker images were reduced by 60% via the use of using the --no-install-recommends option within their Docker files. The option has been in APT and just a matter of making use of that option as opposed to announcing a new development or capability.
Obviously avoiding recommended packages can hit some corner cases especially on a more well-rounded desktop or server, but for Docker/containers, they've found it works well with all their Docker-based web projects running at Canonical.
Canonical decreased their Docker image size by about 60% while speeding up the build time by about 15%. So treat this as a P.S.A. if you haven't toyed with "--no-install-recommends or the other APT options in a while.
26 Comments