Visual Studio Docker Support - Debugging with a Dockerfile outside of the startup project folder

Question

I have a docker file for a .NET Core project that references some library projects in the same solution.

Given that Docker does not allow copying files from outside of the parent directory (Docker: adding a file from a parent directory), I have to keep my Dockerfile outside of the executable (start up) project directory.

So, how do I use Visual Studio debugging with a Dockerfile that is not located within the executable project?

It seems that Visual Studio only works with the Docker debug profile if it can find a Dockerfile in the directory for the startup project.

When the Dockerfile is not present in the startup directory, the build error points at lines in a file named Container.targets, located at:

C:\Users<user>\.nuget\packages\microsoft.visualstudio.azure.containers.tools.targets\1.4.10\build

<Target Name="ContainerPrepareForLaunch" Condition="Exists('$(ContainerSemaphoreFilePath)')">
    <PrepareForLaunch DevelopmentMode="$(ContainerDevelopmentMode)"
                      DevEnvDir="$(DevEnvDir)"
                      Dockerfiles="@(_Dockerfile)" 
                      IntermediateOutputPath="$(ContainerIntermediateOutputPath)"
                      ProjectCapability="@(ProjectCapability)"
                      ProjectFilePath="$(MSBuildProjectFullPath)" 
                      NuGetPackageFolders="$(NuGetPackageFolders)"
                      NuGetPackageRoot="$(NuGetPackageRoot)"
                      TargetFrameworkWithVersion ="$(TargetFramework)"
                      TargetPath="$(TargetPath)"
                      ErrorLogFilePath="$(ContainerSemaphoreFilePath)"
                      DockerLabelBuiltImages="$(DockerLabelBuiltImages)"
                      DockerImageLabel="$(DockerImageLabel)" 
                      ProjectTypeGuids="$(ProjectTypeGuids)" />
  </Target>

However I need to be able to manage the path to the Dockerfile on a per-project basis.

Answer 1

You can specify DockerfileFile in your project file. The list of available recognized properties can be found here