Extending the community-maintained Docker image for TYPO3

Install Node.js and npm in the TYPO3 container

To extend the existing Docker image and install Node.js, create a file named Dockerfile. For simplicity, you can place it in the same folder as your docker-compose.yml file created in the chapter Create the docker-compose.yml file.

FROM martinhelmich/typo3:13.4

USER root

# Install Node.js and npm (NodeSource 20.x)
RUN curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | bash - && \
    apt-get install -y nodejs

USER www-data

This example:

• Starts from the official martinhelmich/typo3 image
• Switches to root user to install system packages
• Adds the latest Node.js 20.x LTS version
• Switches back to the default unprivileged user

Build and run the custom image

To build and run your extended image, use the following commands:

docker build -t typo3-with-nodejs .
docker run -d -p 8082:80 --name typo3-nodejs typo3-with-nodejs

To avoid conflicts with containers from previous examples, this image uses port 8082. For instructions on stopping or removing containers that use other ports, refer to Stop and clean up.

Once the container is running, you can verify that Node.js is installed by executing the following command:

docker exec -it typo3-nodejs node -v

This should output the installed Node.js version (for example: v18.19.0).

You can now use Node.js inside the container to install frontend dependencies or run build scripts required by your TYPO3 project.

Add a custom startup script

You can extend the image further by adding your own startup script. This is useful if you want to run custom commands each time the container starts—for example, to set file permissions, log environment variables, or flush caches.

Create a file named startup.sh in the same folder as your Dockerfile:

#!/bin/bash
echo "[INFO] Running custom startup script..."

# Example: create a log file
echo "Startscript executed successfully" >> /var/www/html/startup.log

# Start Apache (required by php:*-apache images)
exec apache2-foreground

Update your Dockerfile to copy this script and use it as the new entrypoint:

USER root

COPY ./startup.sh /usr/local/bin/startup.sh
RUN chmod +x /usr/local/bin/startup.sh

USER www-data

ENTRYPOINT ["/usr/local/bin/startup.sh"]

Then rebuild the image and run the container:

docker build --no-cache -t typo3-with-nodejs .
docker rm -f typo3-nodejs
docker run -d -p 8082:80 --name typo3-nodejs typo3-with-nodejs

You can verify that the script ran by checking for the log file:

docker exec -it typo3-nodejs cat /var/www/html/startup.log

And view the container logs:

docker logs typo3-nodejs

Use the custom image in your Docker Compose setup

After running your extended image manually, you can now integrate it into the Docker Compose setup described in the chapter Create the docker-compose.yml file.

Before doing so, stop and remove the previously started container that used your image:

# Stop previous example
docker stop typo3-nodejs
docker rm typo3-nodejs

# Stop previous Docker compose
docker compose down --volumes

# Remove data from previous runs
rm -rf typo3conf/* fileadmin/* typo3temp/*

Then update your docker-compose.yml to build your custom image instead of pulling martinhelmich/typo3 from Docker Hub.

Change the following lines in the web service:

 services:
   web:
-    image: martinhelmich/typo3:latest
+    build: .
     container_name: compose-demo-typo3

This change tells Docker Compose to build the image locally using your Dockerfile.

Make sure your Dockerfile and docker-compose.yml are in the same directory, then start the services:

# Run this to force a rebuild of your local image:
docker compose build --no-cache

# Then bring it up:
docker compose up -d

To verify that Node.js is available inside the container:

# Verify that Node.js is available:
docker exec -it compose-demo-typo3 node -v

# Verify that the startup script ran by checking for the log file
docker exec -it compose-demo-typo3 ls -l /var/www/html/startup.log

# See the output of the startup script:
docker logs compose-demo-typo3

You can now open your browser at: http://localhost:8081

Advantages of extending the community-maintained image

Extending the martinhelmich/typo3 image is useful for learning purposes:

• It helps you understand how Docker images are built and layered
• You can try out adding tools such as Node.js to a running TYPO3 environment
• It introduces you to working with custom images without having to build everything yourself

This approach is not intended for collaborative or production TYPO3 development.

In real-world projects, you would typically use a Composer-based setup and track all dependencies (including TYPO3 and extensions) in version control.

If you want to go one step further and automate the initial TYPO3 installation (using the CLI instead of the web-based install wizard), see

Automated TYPO3 installation using the CLI