01 - Run Locally with Docker¶

Before deploying to Azure Container Apps, validate your Java app in a container locally. This catches image, dependency, and port issues early.

flowchart TD
    INET[Internet] -->|HTTPS| CA["Container App\nConsumption\nLinux Java 17"]

    subgraph VNET["VNet 10.0.0.0/16"]
        subgraph ENV_SUB["Environment Subnet 10.0.0.0/23\nDelegation: Microsoft.App/environments"]
            CAE[Container Apps Environment]
            CA
        end
        subgraph PE_SUB["Private Endpoint Subnet 10.0.2.0/24"]
            PE_ACR[PE: ACR]
            PE_KV[PE: Key Vault]
            PE_ST[PE: Storage]
        end
    end

    PE_ACR --> ACR[Azure Container Registry]
    PE_KV --> KV[Key Vault]
    PE_ST --> ST[Storage Account]

    subgraph DNS[Private DNS Zones]
        DNS_ACR[privatelink.azurecr.io]
        DNS_KV[privatelink.vaultcore.azure.net]
        DNS_ST[privatelink.blob.core.windows.net]
    end

    PE_ACR -.-> DNS_ACR
    PE_KV -.-> DNS_KV
    PE_ST -.-> DNS_ST

    CA -.->|System-Assigned MI| ENTRA[Microsoft Entra ID]
    CAE --> LOG[Log Analytics]
    CA --> AI[Application Insights]

    style CA fill:#107c10,color:#fff
    style VNET fill:#E8F5E9,stroke:#4CAF50
    style DNS fill:#E3F2FD

Local Development Workflow¶

graph LR
    CODE[Source Code] --> BUILD[Maven Build]
    BUILD --> IMAGE[Docker Build]
    IMAGE --> CONT[Container]
    CONT --> LOCAL[localhost:8000]
    LOCAL --> HEALTH[Health Check]

Prerequisites¶

• Docker Engine or Docker Desktop
• Source code with a pom.xml and Dockerfile
• JDK 21 and Maven (optional, if building without Docker)

Step-by-step¶

1. Build the container image

   The reference application uses a multi-stage Dockerfile that builds the application using Maven before creating the final JRE-based image.

   cd apps/java-springboot
   docker build --tag aca-java-guide .
   

   Expected output

   [+] Building 42.5s (12/12) FINISHED
    => [internal] load build definition from Dockerfile
    => [internal] load .dockerignore
    => [build 1/5] FROM docker.io/library/maven:3.9-eclipse-temurin-21@sha256:xxx
    => [build 2/5] WORKDIR /app
    => [build 3/5] COPY pom.xml .
    => [build 4/5] RUN mvn dependency:go-offline -B
    => [build 5/5] COPY src ./src
    => [build 6/6] RUN mvn package -DskipTests -B
    => [stage-1 1/3] FROM docker.io/library/eclipse-temurin:21-jre-alpine@sha256:xxx
    => [stage-1 2/3] WORKDIR /app
    => [stage-1 3/3] COPY --from=build /app/target/*.jar app.jar
    => exporting to image
    => naming to docker.io/library/aca-java-guide
   

2. Run the container locally

   docker run --publish 8000:8000 --name java-guide aca-java-guide
   

   Expected output

     .   ____          _            __ _ _
    /\\ / ___'_ __ _ _(_)_ __  __ _ \ \ \ \
   ( ( )\___ | '_ | '_| | '_ \/ _` | \ \ \ \
    \\/  ___)| |_)| | | | | || (_| |  ) ) ) )
     '  |____| .__|_| |_|_| |_\__, | / / / /
    =========|_|==============|___/=/_/_/_/
    :: Spring Boot ::                (v3.2.4)
   
   2026-04-04T16:12:50.123Z  INFO 1 --- [           main] com.example.demo.DemoApplication        : Starting DemoApplication v1.0.0 using Java 21.0.10
   2026-04-04T16:12:54.456Z  INFO 1 --- [           main] o.s.b.w.embedded.tomcat.TomcatWebServer  : Tomcat initialized with port 8000 (http)
   2026-04-04T16:12:58.789Z  INFO 1 --- [           main] com.example.demo.DemoApplication        : Started DemoApplication in 8.67 seconds (process running for 9.12)
   

3. Verify health endpoint

   Spring Boot applications typically use Actuator for health monitoring. In the reference app, a custom endpoint is provided at /health.

   curl http://localhost:8000/health
   

   Expected output

   {"status":"healthy","timestamp":"2026-04-04T16:12:58.973766483Z"}
   

   You can also verify runtime metadata:

   curl http://localhost:8000/info
   

   Expected output

   {"runtime":{"vendor":"Eclipse Adoptium","java":"21.0.10"},"app":"azure-container-apps-java-guide","version":"1.0.0"}
   

4. Inspect application logs

   docker logs java-guide
   

   To find all containers: docker ps -a

Local parity checklist¶

• Application listens on port 8000 (matches EXPOSE 8000 in Dockerfile)
• Required environment variables are present (if any)
• /health returns HTTP 200
• No startup exceptions (e.g., BeanCreationException, ApplicationContextException) in container logs

Advanced Topics¶

• Actuator Health: Configure management.endpoint.health.show-details=always for more detailed local health diagnostics.
• Remote Debugging: Attach your IDE to the local container using JVM debug flags (-agentlib:jdwp=transport=dt_socket,server=y,suspend=n,address=*:5005).
• Memory Limits: Test how the JVM responds to container memory limits by adding --memory="512m" to docker run.

See Also¶

• 02 - First Deploy to Azure Container Apps
• 03 - Configuration and Secrets
• Java Runtime Reference

Sources¶

• Spring Boot with Docker
• Eclipse Temurin Documentation
• Dockerfile requirements for Azure Container Apps (Microsoft Learn)