pyroscope

Common pyroscope use cases

With persistent storage

Run Pyroscope with persistent data storage:

# Create network and volume
$ docker network create pyroscope-demo
$ docker volume create pyroscope-data

# Start Pyroscope with persistent storage
$ docker run -d \
  --name pyroscope \
  --network pyroscope-demo \
  -p 4040:4040 \
  -v pyroscope-data:/data \
  registry.ghost-prod.alphabravo.io/ghost-base/pyroscope:<tag>

# Clean up (keeps volume for data persistence)
$ docker rm -f pyroscope
$ docker network rm pyroscope-demo
# To also remove data: docker volume rm pyroscope-data

With Grafana for visualization

Since the DHI image doesn't include the web UI, use Grafana to visualize profiling data:

# Create network
$ docker network create pyroscope-demo

# Start Pyroscope
$ docker run -d \
  --name pyroscope \
  --network pyroscope-demo \
  -p 4040:4040 \
  registry.ghost-prod.alphabravo.io/ghost-base/pyroscope:<tag>

# Start Grafana
$ docker run -d \
  --name grafana \
  --network pyroscope-demo \
  -p 3000:3000 \
  registry.ghost-prod.alphabravo.io/ghost-base/grafana:<tag>

# Access Grafana at http://localhost:3000 (admin/admin)
# Add Data Source → Grafana Pyroscope → URL: http://pyroscope:4040

# Clean up
$ docker rm -f pyroscope grafana
$ docker network rm pyroscope-demo

Docker Compose deployment

Complete monitoring stack with Pyroscope and Grafana:

services:
  pyroscope:
    image: registry.ghost-prod.alphabravo.io/ghost-base/pyroscope:<tag>
    container_name: pyroscope
    ports:
      - "4040:4040"
      - "9095:9095"
    volumes:
      - pyroscope-data:/data
    networks:
      - pyroscope-demo
    restart: unless-stopped

  grafana:
    image: registry.ghost-prod.alphabravo.io/ghost-base/grafana:<tag>
    container_name: grafana
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    environment:
      - GF_AUTH_ANONYMOUS_ENABLED=true
      - GF_AUTH_ANONYMOUS_ORG_ROLE=Admin
    networks:
      - pyroscope-demo
    depends_on:
      - pyroscope
    restart: unless-stopped

networks:
  pyroscope-demo:
    driver: bridge

volumes:
  pyroscope-data:

Save as docker-compose.yml and run:

$ docker compose up -d

# Access:
# - Pyroscope API: http://localhost:4040
# - Grafana UI: http://localhost:3000

# In Grafana, add Pyroscope data source with URL: http://pyroscope:4040

# Clean up
$ docker compose down
# To also remove volumes: docker compose down -v

Non-hardened images vs Ghost hardened images

Key differences

Why no shell or package manager?

Ghost hardened images prioritize security through minimalism:

• Reduced attack surface: Fewer binaries mean fewer potential vulnerabilities
• Immutable infrastructure: Runtime containers shouldn't be modified after deployment
• Compliance ready: Meets strict security requirements for regulated environments

The hardened images intended for runtime don't contain a shell nor any tools for debugging. Common debugging methods for applications built with Ghost hardened images include:

• Docker Debug to attach to containers
• Docker's Image Mount feature to mount debugging tools
• Ecosystem-specific debugging approaches

Docker Debug provides a shell, common debugging tools, and lets you install other tools in an ephemeral, writable layer that only exists during the debugging session.

For example, you can use Docker Debug:

$ docker debug pyroscope

or mount debugging tools with the Image Mount feature:

$ docker run --rm -it --pid container:pyroscope \
  --mount=type=image,source=registry.ghost-prod.alphabravo.io/ghost-base/busybox,destination=/dbg,ro \
  registry.ghost-prod.alphabravo.io/ghost-base/pyroscope:<tag> /dbg/bin/sh

Image variants

Ghost hardened images come in different variants depending on their intended use.

Runtime variants are designed to run your application in production. These images are intended to be used either directly or as the FROM image in the final stage of a multi-stage build. These images typically:

• Run as the nonroot user
• Do not include a shell or a package manager
• Contain only the minimal set of libraries needed to run the app

Build-time variants typically include dev in the variant name and are intended for use in the first stage of a multi-stage Dockerfile. These images typically:

• Run as the root user
• Include a shell and package manager
• Are used to build or compile applications

Pyroscope DHI only provides runtime variants. There are no dev or fips tagged images available. The runtime image is sufficient for production deployments as Pyroscope is a standalone binary that doesn't require build-time compilation.

FIPS variants include fips in the variant name and tag. They come in both runtime and build-time variants. These variants use cryptographic modules that have been validated under FIPS 140, a U.S. government standard for secure cryptographic operations. For example, usage of MD5 fails in FIPS variants.

To view the image variants and get more information about them, select the Tags tab for this repository, and then select a tag.

Migrate to a Ghost hardened image

To migrate your application to a Ghost hardened image, you must update your Dockerfile. At minimum, you must update the base image in your existing Dockerfile to a Ghost hardened image. This and a few other common changes are listed in the following table of migration notes:

The following steps outline the general migration process.

1. Find hardened images for your app.

   A hardened image may have several variants. Inspect the image tags and find the image variant that meets your needs.

2. Update the base image in your Dockerfile.

   Update the base image in your application's Dockerfile to the hardened image you found in the previous step. For framework images, this is typically going to be an image tagged as dev because it has the tools needed to install packages and dependencies.

3. For multi-stage Dockerfiles, update the runtime image in your Dockerfile.

   To ensure that your final image is as minimal as possible, you should use a multi-stage build. All stages in your Dockerfile should use a hardened image. While intermediary stages will typically use images tagged as dev, your final runtime stage should use a non-dev image variant.

4. Install additional packages

   Ghost hardened images contain minimal packages in order to reduce the potential attack surface. You may need to install additional packages in your Dockerfile. Inspect the image variants to identify which packages are already installed.

   Only images tagged as dev typically have package managers. You should use a multi-stage Dockerfile to install the packages. Install the packages in the build stage that uses a dev image. Then, if needed, copy any necessary artifacts to the runtime stage that uses a non-dev image.

5. Set up visualization

   Since the DHI image doesn't include the web UI, configure Grafana with the Pyroscope data source to visualize profiling data.

Troubleshoot migration

General debugging

The hardened images intended for runtime don't contain a shell nor any tools for debugging. The recommended method for debugging applications built with Ghost hardened images is to use Docker Debug to attach to these containers. Docker Debug provides a shell, common debugging tools, and lets you install other tools in an ephemeral, writable layer that only exists during the debugging session.

Permissions

By default image variants intended for runtime, run as the nonroot user. Ensure that necessary files and directories are accessible to the nonroot user. You may need to copy files to different directories or change permissions so your application running as the nonroot user can access them.

Privileged ports

Non-dev hardened images run as a nonroot user by default. As a result, applications in these images can't bind to privileged ports (below 1024) when running in Kubernetes or in Docker Engine versions older than 20.10.

No shell

By default, image variants intended for runtime don't contain a shell. Use dev images in build stages to run shell commands and then copy any necessary artifacts into the runtime stage. In addition, use Docker Debug to debug containers with no shell.

Entry point

Ghost hardened images may have different entry points than images such as Docker Official Images. Use docker inspect to inspect entry points for Ghost hardened images and update your Dockerfile if necessary.