npm was installed in the runtime only to globally install vulnerability patched versions of tar/glob/brace-expansion/minimatch/diff and to in-place rewrite npm's own bundled package.json. Both were to silence CVE scanners against modules that ship with npm itself. Since we no longer run npm anywhere in the runtime (Prisma uses the node binary directly for migrate deploy and generate), we can just skip installing npm in the first place. This eliminates both the ~25-line CVE-patch shuffle AND the underlying CVE surface. Kept: nodejs (needed by prisma-python's CLI and migrate deploy). Removed: npm apk package, all 'npm install -g', all find+sed patching, the redundant 'apk upgrade --no-cache nodejs' (already covered by the preceding 'apk upgrade'). Image: 4.97GB (opt-1) -> 4.97GB (opt-2); the real win is that two CVEs (CVE-2026-33671 and GHSA-q4gf-8mx6-v5v3) drop off the Trivy HIGH/CRITICAL list. No new CVEs introduced. API parity and UI visual regression both match baseline. Co-authored-by: yuneng-jiang <yuneng-berri@users.noreply.github.com>
Docker Development Guide
This guide provides instructions for building and running the LiteLLM application using Docker and Docker Compose.
Prerequisites
- Docker
- Docker Compose
Building and Running the Application
To build and run the application, you will use the docker-compose.yml file located in the root of the project. This file is configured to use the Dockerfile.non_root for a secure, non-root container environment.
1. Set the Master Key
The application requires a LITELLM_MASTER_KEY for signing and validating tokens. You must set this key as an environment variable before running the application.
Create a .env file in the root of the project and add the following line:
LITELLM_MASTER_KEY=your-secret-key
Replace your-secret-key with a strong, randomly generated secret.
2. Build and Run the Containers
Once you have set the LITELLM_MASTER_KEY, you can build and run the containers using the following command:
docker compose up -d --build
This command will:
- Build the Docker image using
Dockerfile.non_root. - Start the
litellm,litellm_db, andprometheusservices in detached mode (-d). - The
--buildflag ensures that the image is rebuilt if there are any changes to the Dockerfile or the application code.
3. Verifying the Application is Running
You can check the status of the running containers with the following command:
docker compose ps
To view the logs of the litellm container, run:
docker compose logs -f litellm
4. Stopping the Application
To stop the running containers, use the following command:
docker compose down
Hardened / Offline Testing
To ensure changes are safe for non-root, read-only root filesystems and restricted egress, always validate with the hardened compose file:
docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.hardened.yml build --no-cache
docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.hardened.yml up -d
This setup:
- Builds from
docker/Dockerfile.non_rootwith Prisma engines and Node toolchain baked into the image. - Runs the proxy as a non-root user with a read-only rootfs and only writable tmpfs mounts:
/app/cache(Prisma/NPM cache; backingPRISMA_BINARY_CACHE_DIR,NPM_CONFIG_CACHE,XDG_CACHE_HOME)/app/migrations(Prisma migration workspace; backingLITELLM_MIGRATION_DIR)
- Pre-builds and serves the admin UI from read-only paths:
/var/lib/litellm/ui(pre-restructured Next.js UI with.litellm_ui_readymarker)/var/lib/litellm/assets(UI logos and assets)
- Routes all outbound traffic through a local Squid proxy that denies egress, so Prisma migrations must use the cached CLI and engines.
You should also verify offline Prisma behaviour with:
docker run --rm --network none --entrypoint prisma ghcr.io/berriai/litellm:main-stable --version
This command should succeed (showing engine versions) even with --network none, confirming that Prisma binaries are available without network access.
Troubleshooting
build_admin_ui.sh: not found: This error can occur if the Docker build context is not set correctly. Ensure that you are running thedocker-composecommand from the root of the project.Master key is not initialized: This error means theLITELLM_MASTER_KEYenvironment variable is not set. Make sure you have created a.envfile in the project root with theLITELLM_MASTER_KEYdefined.