How to Generate IaC Templates from Your Docker Files

Last year, I found myself in a frustrating cycle. I'd discover a cool open-source project with a Docker configuration but then spend hours creating Infrastructure as Code templates just to deploy it to my favorite cloud provider. Each time, I translated the same Docker setup, i.e., into CloudFormation for AWS, Blueprints for Render, and App Specs for DigitalOcean. After doing this tedious translation work for the fifth time, I decided there had to be a better way. That's why I built docker-to-iac – to automate the conversion from Docker configurations to deployment-ready IaC templates for various cloud providers in seconds. Solution: Using docker-to-iac The docker-to-iac module converts Docker Compose files or Docker run commands into Infrastructure as Code templates for various cloud providers. Here's how to use it: Setup First, create a new project and install the necessary dependencies: mkdir iac-generator cd iac-generator npm init -y npm install @deploystack/docker-to-iac typescript ts-node Create a tsconfig.json file: { "compilerOptions": { "target": "ES2020", "module": "NodeNext", "esModuleInterop": true, "forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true, "strict": true, "skipLibCheck": true } } Basic Implementation Create a file named generate-template.ts with this code: import { translate } from '@deploystack/docker-to-iac'; import { writeFileSync, mkdirSync, existsSync } from 'fs'; import { join, dirname } from 'path'; // Docker Compose content - replace with your own or read from a file const dockerComposeContent = ` version: '3' services: web: image: nginx:alpine ports: - "80:80" `; // Generate Render.com Blueprint const result = translate(dockerComposeContent, { source: 'compose', target: 'RND', // RND = Render.com }); // Create output directory const outputDir = 'output'; if (!existsSync(outputDir)) { mkdirSync(outputDir, { recursive: true }); } // Write all generated files Object.entries(result.files).forEach(([path, fileData]) => { const fullPath = join(outputDir, path); const dir = dirname(fullPath); if (!existsSync(dir)) { mkdirSync(dir, { recursive: true }); } writeFileSync(fullPath, fileData.content); console.log(`Created: ${path}`); }); console.log('Done! Check the output directory for your IaC templates.'); Run it with: npx ts-node generate-template.ts This will generate a Render.com Blueprint in the output directory. Practical Example: Web App + Database on Render Let's create a more realistic example with a web app connecting to a database: import { translate } from '@deploystack/docker-to-iac'; import { writeFileSync, mkdirSync, existsSync } from 'fs'; import { join, dirname } from 'path'; // Set DB password for variable interpolation const DB_PASSWORD = 'mySecurePassword123'; // Docker Compose for a web app + database const dockerComposeContent = ` version: '3' services: web: image: node:18-alpine command: npm start ports: - "3000:3000" environment: - NODE_ENV=production - DATABASE_URL=postgres://postgres:\${DB_PASSWORD}@db:5432/app db: image: postgres:14 environment: - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=\${DB_PASSWORD} - POSTGRES_DB=app volumes: - pg_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data volumes: pg_data: `; // Generate Render.com Blueprint with service connections const result = translate(dockerComposeContent, { source: 'compose', target: 'RND', // Handle environment variables environmentVariables: { DB_PASSWORD: DB_PASSWORD }, // Configure service connections serviceConnections: { mappings: [ { fromService: 'web', toService: 'db', environmentVariables: ['DATABASE_URL'], property: 'connectionString' } ] } }); // Create output directory and save files const outputDir = 'output-full'; if (!existsSync(outputDir)) { mkdirSync(outputDir, { recursive: true }); } Object.entries(result.files).forEach(([path, fileData]) => { const fullPath = join(outputDir, path); const dir = dirname(fullPath); if (!existsSync(dir)) { mkdirSync(dir, { recursive: true }); } writeFileSync(fullPath, fileData.content); console.log(`Created: ${path}`); }); console.log('Done! Check the output-full directory for your IaC templates.'); This code handles: Environment variable substitution Service connections between the web app and database Generating the proper Render.com Blueprint format with correct service types Deployment The generated render.yaml will look something like this: services: - name: web type: web runtime: image image: url: docker.io/library/node:18-alpine startCommand: npm start plan: starter region: oregon envVars: - key: NODE_ENV value: production - key: PORT value: "3000" - key: DATABASE_URL fromData

mkdir iac-generator
cd iac-generator
npm init -y
npm install @deploystack/docker-to-iac typescript ts-node

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "target": "ES2020",
    "module": "NodeNext",
    "esModuleInterop": true,
    "forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true,
    "strict": true,
    "skipLibCheck": true
  }
}

import { translate } from '@deploystack/docker-to-iac';
import { writeFileSync, mkdirSync, existsSync } from 'fs';
import { join, dirname } from 'path';

// Docker Compose content - replace with your own or read from a file
const dockerComposeContent = `
version: '3'
services:
  web:
    image: nginx:alpine
    ports:
      - "80:80"
`;

// Generate Render.com Blueprint
const result = translate(dockerComposeContent, {
  source: 'compose',
  target: 'RND',     // RND = Render.com
});

// Create output directory
const outputDir = 'output';
if (!existsSync(outputDir)) {
  mkdirSync(outputDir, { recursive: true });
}

// Write all generated files
Object.entries(result.files).forEach(([path, fileData]) => {
  const fullPath = join(outputDir, path);
  const dir = dirname(fullPath);

  if (!existsSync(dir)) {
    mkdirSync(dir, { recursive: true });
  }

  writeFileSync(fullPath, fileData.content);
  console.log(`Created: ${path}`);
});

console.log('Done! Check the output directory for your IaC templates.');

npx ts-node generate-template.ts

import { translate } from '@deploystack/docker-to-iac';
import { writeFileSync, mkdirSync, existsSync } from 'fs';
import { join, dirname } from 'path';

// Set DB password for variable interpolation
const DB_PASSWORD = 'mySecurePassword123';

// Docker Compose for a web app + database
const dockerComposeContent = `
version: '3'
services:
  web:
    image: node:18-alpine
    command: npm start
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    environment:
      - NODE_ENV=production
      - DATABASE_URL=postgres://postgres:\${DB_PASSWORD}@db:5432/app

  db:
    image: postgres:14
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=\${DB_PASSWORD}
      - POSTGRES_DB=app
    volumes:
      - pg_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data

volumes:
  pg_data:
`;

// Generate Render.com Blueprint with service connections
const result = translate(dockerComposeContent, {
  source: 'compose',
  target: 'RND',
  // Handle environment variables
  environmentVariables: {
    DB_PASSWORD: DB_PASSWORD
  },
  // Configure service connections
  serviceConnections: {
    mappings: [
      {
        fromService: 'web',
        toService: 'db',
        environmentVariables: ['DATABASE_URL'],
        property: 'connectionString'
      }
    ]
  }
});

// Create output directory and save files
const outputDir = 'output-full';
if (!existsSync(outputDir)) {
  mkdirSync(outputDir, { recursive: true });
}

Object.entries(result.files).forEach(([path, fileData]) => {
  const fullPath = join(outputDir, path);
  const dir = dirname(fullPath);

  if (!existsSync(dir)) {
    mkdirSync(dir, { recursive: true });
  }

  writeFileSync(fullPath, fileData.content);
  console.log(`Created: ${path}`);
});

console.log('Done! Check the output-full directory for your IaC templates.');

services:
  - name: web
    type: web
    runtime: image
    image:
      url: docker.io/library/node:18-alpine
    startCommand: npm start
    plan: starter
    region: oregon
    envVars:
      - key: NODE_ENV
        value: production
      - key: PORT
        value: "3000"
      - key: DATABASE_URL
        fromDatabase:
          name: db-db
          property: connectionString
databases:
  - name: db-db
    plan: free