ArchCode
Service

Packaging & Runtime

We work closely with our clients and engineers to craft lightweight images and predictable runtimes. We start from standardised builds and caching, finishing with safe configuration and secrets that keep deployments smooth.

What's included

  • Multi-stage Docker builds to produce the smallest possible production images
  • Image layer caching strategy to cut CI build times significantly
  • Non-root user configuration and minimal base image hardening (distroless or Alpine)
  • Runtime configuration via environment variables (12-factor app compliance)
  • Container health checks, readiness probes, and graceful shutdown handling
  • Image tagging strategy and container registry workflow (Docker Hub, ECR, GCR, or self-hosted)
  • Deployment manifest standards: Docker Compose for local dev, Kubernetes YAML or Helm charts for production
  • Build time and image size benchmarks — before and after — so you can see the improvement
  • Handoff walkthrough session with your engineering team

Who it's for

Teams with slow CI pipelines where the Docker build is the bottleneck. Teams whose production images are hundreds of megabytes when they could be tens. Teams where environment-specific configuration is baked into the image rather than injected at runtime, making it impossible to promote the same image from staging to production.

How we work

  1. Understand — review your current Dockerfiles, build times, image sizes, and deployment workflow
  2. Define Done — agree target image sizes, acceptable build times, and deployment manifest standards
  3. Implement — rewrite Dockerfiles and manifests iteratively, measuring at each step
  4. Handoff — walkthrough session, full documentation, access removed at project close

Typical timeline

1–2 weeks depending on the number of services and runtime complexity. Fixed scope, fixed quote upfront.

What we've seen fixed

Teams completing this engagement typically see CI build times cut by 50–70% and image sizes reduced by 60–90%. Deployments that previously took 15 minutes come down to under 3. The same image can be promoted from staging to production without a rebuild, which removes a whole class of "it worked on staging" bugs.