Instruction WORKDIR

WORKDIR <path>

The WORKDIR instruction changes the current working directory inside the build namespace. This affects all subsequent relative paths, including the RUN instruction.

The workdir is not inherited through FROM.

The initial workdir is always /.

Example

# This will copy "program" to "/bin/program" (since initial directory is "/")
COPY program bin/program

# This creates /foo
RUN /bin/sh -c "touch foo"



# Switch to /usr
WORKDIR /usr

# The same command will now copy "program" to "/usr/bin/program"
COPY program bin/program



# Switch to /tmp
WORKDIR /tmp

# This creates /tmp/foo
RUN /bin/sh -c "touch foo"