Project: /_project.yaml Book: /_book.yaml

Getting Started with Bazel Docker Container

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This page provides details on the contents of the Bazel container, how to build the abseil-cpp{: .external} project using Bazel inside the Bazel container, and how to build this project directly from the host machine using the Bazel container with directory mounting.

Build Abseil project from your host machine with directory mounting {:#build-abseil}

The instructions in this section allow you to build using the Bazel container with the sources checked out in your host environment. A container is started up for each build command you execute. Build results are cached in your host environment so they can be reused across builds.

Clone the project to a directory in your host machine.

git clone https://github.com/abseil/abseil-cpp.git /src/workspace

Create a folder that will have cached results to be shared across builds.

mkdir -p /tmp/build_output/

Use the Bazel container to build the project and make the build outputs available in the output folder in your host machine.

docker run \
  -e USER="$(id -u)" \
  -u="$(id -u)" \
  -v /src/workspace:/src/workspace \
  -v /tmp/build_output:/tmp/build_output \
  -w /src/workspace \
  gcr.io/bazel-public/bazel:latest \
  --output_user_root=/tmp/build_output \
  build //absl/...

Build the project with sanitizers by adding the --config={{ "<var>" }}asan{{ "</var>" }}|{{ "<var>" }}tsan{{ "</var>" }}|{{ "<var>" }}msan{{ "</var>" }} build flag to select AddressSanitizer (asan), ThreadSanitizer (tsan) or MemorySanitizer (msan) accordingly.

docker run \
  -e USER="$(id -u)" \
  -u="$(id -u)" \
  -v /src/workspace:/src/workspace \
  -v /tmp/build_output:/tmp/build_output \
  -w /src/workspace \
  gcr.io/bazel-public/bazel:latest \
  --output_user_root=/tmp/build_output \
  build --config={asan | tsan | msan} -- //absl/... -//absl/types:variant_test

Build Abseil project from inside the container {:#build-abseil-inside-container}

The instructions in this section allow you to build using the Bazel container with the sources inside the container. By starting a container at the beginning of your developement workflow and doing changes in the worskpace within the container, build results will be cached.

Start a shell in the Bazel container:

docker run --interactive --entrypoint=/bin/bash gcr.io/bazel-public/bazel:latest

Each container id is unique. In the instructions bellow, the container was 5a99103747c6.

Clone the project.

root@5a99103747c6:~# git clone https://github.com/abseil/abseil-cpp.git && cd abseil-cpp/

Do a regular build.

root@5a99103747c6:~/abseil-cpp# bazel build //absl/...

root@5a99103747c6:~/abseil-cpp# bazel build --config=--config={asan | tsan | msan} -- //absl/... -//absl/types:variant_test

Explore the Bazel container {:#explore-bazel-container}

If you haven't already, start an interactive shell inside the Bazel container.

docker run -it --entrypoint=/bin/bash gcr.io/bazel-public/bazel:latest
root@5a99103747c6:/#

Explore the container contents.

root@5a99103747c6:/# clang --version
clang version 8.0.0 (trunk 340178)
Target: x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
Thread model: posix
InstalledDir: /usr/local/bin

root@5a99103747c6:/# java -version
openjdk version "1.8.0_181"
OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 1.8.0_181-8u181-b13-0ubuntu0.16.04.1-b13)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 25.181-b13, mixed mode)

root@5a99103747c6:/# python -V
Python 2.7.12

root@5a99103747c6:/# python3 -V
Python 3.6.6

root@5a99103747c6:/# bazel version
Extracting Bazel installation...
Build label: 6.0.0
Build target: bazel-out/k8-opt/bin/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/bazel/BazelServer_deploy.jar
Build time: Mon Dec 19 15:52:35 2022 (1671465155)
Build timestamp: 1671465155
Build timestamp as int: 1671465155