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javalinuxdockergraalvmgraalvm-native-image

Can we create native image from inside a graalvm docker and run it anywhere?

We are new to Graalvm and are building a simple Java command line app. The jar runs fine in jvm mode (java -jar <file>.jar). We don't install Graalvm on our machines (yet) so we tried to create the native image from inside Docker container which runs Graalvm, the Dockerfile is this simple:

FROM ghcr.io/graalvm/native-image:ol8-java17

COPY . /home/app
WORKDIR /home/app

RUN ./mvnw clean package
RUN native-image -cp target/appj-1.0.0.jar "org.nqm.Appj"
RUN mv org.nqm.Appj appj
RUN chmod +x appj

The docker image was successfully built.

Then we tried to access the container (docker run --rm --name dkappj -it --entrypoint bash dkappj) to collect the native image file. From inside the docker container, we could run it with ./appj without any errors.

However, when we copied the native image file to the host machine and run it with ./appj it produces an error:

zsh: exec format error: ./appj

So my question is can we create native image from inside a graalvm docker container, copy it and run it anywhere? Or we have to install Graalvm on our host machine to be able to execute the native image? Because I thought graalvm native image is actually the machine code (like the apps created from C language)

Edit: when I replicated the whole code base on a new computer which runs the same os (ubuntu 20.04) the native image runs fine on that host machine.

Solution

  • (answer to my own question)

    Can we create native image from inside a graalvm docker and run it anywhere?

    The answer is YES!

    For some specific reasons I am now able to build the native image file inside docker container and run it.