wavemakerapp/app-runtime-tomcat repository overview

⁠WaveMaker App-Runtime-Tomcat Docker Image

The WaveMaker app-runtime-tomcat Docker image is a lightweight, production-optimized container specifically designed for deploying WaveMaker application WAR files. Based on the Tomcat server, it provides a standardized, reliable environment for easy deployment.

⁠Deploying a WAR File with the App-Runtime-Tomcat Docker Image

To deploy a WAR file created by the app-builder image, mount it into the Tomcat webapps directory within the container using the following command:

docker run -d --name <container-name> -v <your_project_location>/dist/:/usr/local/tomcat/webapps/ -p <host_port>:8080 wavemakerapp/app-runtime-tomcat:<wavemaker_version>

Example:

docker run -d --name wm-app -v /home/user/MySampleApp/dist/:/usr/local/tomcat/webapps/ -p 80:8080 wavemakerapp/app-runtime-tomcat

Note: The app-runtime-tomcat image is designed to work with a WAR file from the app-builder⁠ image. This two-step workflow — first building the WAR file with app-builder, then deploying it with app-runtime-tomcat — enhances modularity and ensures a streamlined, reliable deployment process.

Alternatively, if you already have a WAR file from another source, you can deploy it directly by mounting it to the webapps directory as shown above.

⁠Setting Memory Limits

By default, Java picks a heap size automatically based on the available memory. You can override this and other JVM sizing options with environment variables:

docker run -d --name wm-app \
  -v /home/user/MySampleApp/dist/:/usr/local/tomcat/webapps/ \
  -p 80:8080 \
  -e MIN_HEAP_SIZE_MB=512 \
  -e MAX_HEAP_SIZE_MB=2048 \
  wavemakerapp/app-runtime-tomcat:<wavemaker_version>

⁠If the App Runs Out of Memory

If the app ever runs out of memory, the container automatically:

1. Saves a heap dump to /usr/local/tomcat/logs/heap-dumps/ — a snapshot you can open in a tool like Eclipse Memory Analyzer (MAT) to see what was using all the memory.
2. Stops the app, instead of leaving it running in a broken, unresponsive state.

Because the app stops, you need to tell Docker to restart it automatically with --restart on-failure. And to actually retrieve the heap dump afterwards, mount the logs folder to your host with -v:

docker run -d --name wm-app \
  --restart on-failure \
  -v /home/user/MySampleApp/dist/:/usr/local/tomcat/webapps/ \
  -v /home/user/logs:/usr/local/tomcat/logs \
  -p 80:8080 \
  wavemakerapp/app-runtime-tomcat:<wavemaker_version>

⁠GC Logs (optional)

Garbage collection logs are written to /usr/local/tomcat/logs/gc.log by default.

-e GC_LOGGING_ENABLED=false