🐳 Container Development

September 24, 2025 · View on GitHub

For users who prefer containerized environments or need isolated dependencies, docker-rxiv-maker provides pre-built Docker containers with all dependencies included.

🚀 Quick Start

# Pull the latest image
docker pull henriqueslab/rxiv-maker-base:latest

# Generate PDF
docker run -v $(pwd):/workspace -w /workspace henriqueslab/rxiv-maker-base:latest rxiv pdf

# Validate manuscript
docker run -v $(pwd):/workspace -w /workspace henriqueslab/rxiv-maker-base:latest rxiv validate

🛠️ Setup

Prerequisites

  • Docker Desktop or Docker Engine
  • Your manuscript files in the current directory

Installation

No installation required! The container includes:

  • ✅ Latest rxiv-maker
  • ✅ Complete LaTeX distribution
  • ✅ Python, R, and Node.js environments
  • ✅ All required dependencies

📖 Complete Documentation

For comprehensive setup, CI/CD integration, and advanced usage:

📖 docker-rxiv-maker Repository →

🔄 When to Use Containers

Use Containers When:

  • Setting up dependencies is challenging on your system
  • You need reproducible builds across different environments
  • Working in CI/CD pipelines
  • Contributing to rxiv-maker development without system setup

Use Standard Installation When:

  • You want the fastest build times
  • You prefer working with native tools
  • You need to customize the build environment
  • You're doing active development on rxiv-maker itself

📋 Common Usage Patterns

Development Workflow

# Create alias for convenience
alias rxiv-docker='docker run -v $(pwd):/workspace -w /workspace henriqueslab/rxiv-maker-base:latest rxiv'

# Use like normal rxiv commands
rxiv-docker validate
rxiv-docker pdf
rxiv-docker clean

CI/CD Integration

# GitHub Actions example
- name: Generate PDF
  run: |
    docker run -v ${{ github.workspace }}:/workspace -w /workspace \
      henriqueslab/rxiv-maker-base:latest rxiv pdf

Batch Processing

# Process multiple manuscripts
for dir in manuscript_*/; do
  echo "Processing $dir"
  docker run -v $(pwd)/$dir:/workspace -w /workspace \
    henriqueslab/rxiv-maker-base:latest rxiv pdf
done

🚨 Troubleshooting

Permission Issues

# Fix file ownership after container run
sudo chown -R $(id -u):$(id -g) .

Volume Mounting

# Ensure your manuscript directory is properly mounted
docker run -v "$(pwd)":/workspace -w /workspace \
  henriqueslab/rxiv-maker-base:latest rxiv pdf

Windows Users

# Use PowerShell syntax for volume mounting
docker run -v ${PWD}:/workspace -w /workspace henriqueslab/rxiv-maker-base:latest rxiv pdf