Step 1: Install Docker

First we have to download and install Docker on our machine. We will download it from the official Docker website (https://www.docker.com/).

Step 2: Create the .NET and React Projects

Create a new .NET 8 project and a new React project using the following commands in the terminal:

Create .NET project

dotnet new web -o MyDotNetProject

Create React project

npx create-react-app my-react-project

This will generate a .NET 8 project in a folder named MyDotNetProject and a React project in a folder named my-react-project.

Step 3: Create the Dockerfile

In the root of each project, create a new file called Dockerfile with no extension. This file defines how Docker builds your applications.

For .NET 8 application:

# Base image
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/aspnet:8.0 AS base
WORKDIR /app
EXPOSE 80

# Build stage
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:8.0 AS build
WORKDIR /src
COPY ["MyDotNetProject/MyDotNetProject.csproj", "MyDotNetProject/"]
RUN dotnet restore "MyDotNetProject/MyDotNetProject.csproj"
COPY . .
WORKDIR "/src/MyDotNetProject"
RUN dotnet build "MyDotNetProject.csproj" -c Release -o /app/build

# Publish stage
FROM build AS publish
RUN dotnet publish "MyDotNetProject.csproj" -c Release -o /app/publish

# Final stage
FROM base AS final
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=publish /app/publish .
ENTRYPOINT ["dotnet", "MyDotNetProject.dll"]

For React application:

# Base image
FROM node:14 AS build
WORKDIR /app

# Install dependencies
COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm install

# Build the app
COPY . .
RUN npm run build

# Final image
FROM nginx:stable-alpine
COPY --from=build /app/build /usr/share/nginx/html
EXPOSE 80
CMD ["nginx", "-g", "daemon off;"]

Step 4: Build and Run the Docker Containers

Build and run your .NET and React applications in Docker containers:

For .NET project:

cd MyDotNetProject
docker build -t mydotnetproject .
docker run -p 8080:80 mydotnetproject

For React project:

cd ../my-react-project
docker build -t myreactproject .
docker run -p 3000:80 myreactproject

Access your applications at http://localhost:8080 and http://localhost:3000 respectively.

Docker Commands You Might Need:

Viewing Docker Containers

To view all running Docker containers:

docker ps

To view all containers (including non-running ones):

docker ps -a

Stopping a Docker Container

Stop a Docker container using its ID or name:

docker stop <container_ID_or_name>

Removing a Docker Container

Remove a Docker container (after stopping it):

docker rm <container_ID_or_name>

Viewing Docker Images

View all Docker images on your machine:

docker images

Removing a Docker Image

Remove a Docker image:

docker rmi <image_ID>

Make sure to stop containers before removing them.