Gekko in a Docker Container

I was interested to know if there is a Gekko container available. Idea is to have a gekko MPC in a docker that can be easily configured with an interface to load a model, do tuning and visualize the results for a realtime application.

Solution

Here is a tutorial on how to Dockerize a Python program that is run from a Command Line Interface (CLI). Include gekko in the requirements.txt file. This uses a minimal version of Python that is designed for docker containers.

FROM python:3.9-slim
RUN useradd --create-home --shell /bin/bash app_user
WORKDIR /home/app_user
COPY requirements.txt ./
RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt
USER app_user
COPY . .
CMD ["bash"]

There is also a two part series on how to package applications in a Docker container with Part 1 - Using Docker Desktop and Docker Hub and How to Build and Test Your Docker Images in the Cloud with Docker Hub.

A few things to consider:

Include m.path (GEKKO run-time directory) in the Docker PATH: Compiling Gekko with Pyinstaller The m._path value can be changed from the tmp directory to something else.
More information about the Gekko run directory: Gekko Python: Any way to export the model for debugging purposes?
The Gekko GUI requires Flask webserver and other components to run: How do I display solution in GEKKO GUI? This will increase the size and complexity of the Docker container.
Include communication protocols such as Modbus or OPC UA to read and write values to and from a Programmable Logic Controller or Distributed Control System.

Every MPC application that I've created is so customized with a particular model for a particular application that it doesn't seem practical to create a general-purpose Docker container. If the application can be developed once and copied to many similar systems (e.g. MPC to replace PID control) then a Docker container may make sense to ease deployment.