Once you’ve pulled a docker-php-mssql image, you can run it as a container for various use cases including development, testing, and production deployments.
Basic Container Usage Running a Simple Command Execute a PHP script directly:
docker run --rm namoshek/php-mssql:8.4-cli php -r "echo phpversion();"
Running with a Mounted Script Run a PHP file from your host system:
docker run --rm -v $( pwd ) :/app namoshek/php-mssql:8.4-cli php /app/script.php
Interactive Container Start an interactive shell session:
docker run -it --rm namoshek/php-mssql:8.4-cli bash
Using Docker Compose Basic PHP Application
Create docker-compose.yml
Create a docker-compose.yml file in your project root: version : '3.8' services : app : image : namoshek/php-mssql:8.4-cli working_dir : /app volumes : - ./:/app command : php script.php
Web Application with FPM For production web applications, use the FPM image with Nginx:
version : '3.8' services : php : image : namoshek/php-mssql:8.4-fpm working_dir : /var/www volumes : - ./:/var/www networks : - app-network nginx : image : nginx:alpine ports : - "8080:80" volumes : - ./:/var/www - ./nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf depends_on : - php networks : - app-network networks : app-network : driver : bridge
server { listen 80 ; index index.php index.html; server_name localhost; root /var/www/public; location / { try_files $ uri $ uri / /index.php?$ query_string ; } location ~ \.php$ { try_files $ uri =404 ; fastcgi_split_path_info ^(.+\.php)(/.+)$ ; fastcgi_pass php:9000; fastcgi_index index.php; include fastcgi_params; fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $ document_root $ fastcgi_script_name ; fastcgi_param PATH_INFO $ fastcgi_path_info ; } }
Full Stack with SQL Server Complete setup with PHP application and SQL Server:
version : '3.8' services : sqlserver : image : mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2022-latest environment : ACCEPT_EULA : "Y" MSSQL_PID : "Developer" SA_PASSWORD : "YourStrong@Password123" ports : - "1433:1433" volumes : - sqlserver-data:/var/opt/mssql networks : - app-network healthcheck : test : [ "CMD" , "/opt/mssql-tools18/bin/sqlcmd" , "-S" , "localhost" , "-U" , "sa" , "-P" , "YourStrong@Password123" , "-No" , "-Q" , "SELECT 1" ] interval : 10s timeout : 3s retries : 20 app : image : namoshek/php-mssql:8.4-cli working_dir : /app volumes : - ./:/app environment : MSSQL_HOST : sqlserver MSSQL_PORT : 1433 MSSQL_DATABASE : master MSSQL_USERNAME : sa MSSQL_PASSWORD : "YourStrong@Password123" depends_on : sqlserver : condition : service_healthy networks : - app-network command : php /app/script.php volumes : sqlserver-data : networks : app-network : driver : bridge
Never use default passwords in production. Always use strong, unique passwords and consider using Docker secrets or environment variable files.
Environment Variables Common Environment Variables Pass environment variables to containers:
docker run --rm \ -e MSSQL_HOST=sqlserver \ -e MSSQL_PORT= 1433 \ -e MSSQL_DATABASE=mydb \ -e MSSQL_USERNAME=sa \ -e MSSQL_PASSWORD=YourPassword \ -v $( pwd ) :/app \ namoshek/php-mssql:8.4-cli \ php /app/script.php
Using Environment Files Create a .env file:
MSSQL_HOST=sqlserver MSSQL_PORT=1433 MSSQL_DATABASE=mydb MSSQL_USERNAME=sa MSSQL_PASSWORD=YourStrong@Password123
Reference it in docker-compose.yml:
services : app : image : namoshek/php-mssql:8.4-cli env_file : - .env # ... rest of configuration
Add .env to your .gitignore to prevent committing sensitive credentials.
Volume Mounts Application Code Mount your application code:
docker run --rm -v $( pwd ) :/app namoshek/php-mssql:8.4-cli php /app/script.php
Custom PHP Configuration Mount custom php.ini:
docker run --rm \ -v $( pwd ) /custom.ini:/usr/local/etc/php/conf.d/custom.ini \ namoshek/php-mssql:8.4-cli \ php -i | grep memory_limit
Persistent Data For development with composer dependencies:
services : app : image : namoshek/php-mssql:8.4-cli volumes : - ./:/app - vendor:/app/vendor - composer-cache:/root/.composer volumes : vendor : composer-cache :
Working with Composer The CLI images include Composer pre-installed:
Install Dependencies docker run --rm -v $( pwd ) :/app namoshek/php-mssql:8.4-cli composer install
Update Dependencies docker run --rm -v $( pwd ) :/app namoshek/php-mssql:8.4-cli composer update
Run Scripts docker run --rm -v $( pwd ) :/app namoshek/php-mssql:8.4-cli composer run-script test
Working with Node.js CLI images also include Node.js, npm, and Yarn:
Install npm Packages docker run --rm -v $( pwd ) :/app namoshek/php-mssql:8.4-cli npm install
Build Frontend Assets docker run --rm -v $( pwd ) :/app namoshek/php-mssql:8.4-cli npm run build
Using Yarn docker run --rm -v $( pwd ) :/app namoshek/php-mssql:8.4-cli yarn install
Production Considerations
Use Specific Tags
Always pin to specific image tags in production: services : php : image : namoshek/php-mssql:8.4-fpm # Specific version
Resource Limits
Set memory and CPU limits: services : php : image : namoshek/php-mssql:8.4-fpm deploy : resources : limits : cpus : '1' memory : 512M reservations : cpus : '0.5' memory : 256M
Health Checks
Implement health checks: services : php : image : namoshek/php-mssql:8.4-fpm healthcheck : test : [ "CMD" , "php" , "-v" ] interval : 30s timeout : 3s retries : 3
Logging Configuration
Configure proper logging: services : php : image : namoshek/php-mssql:8.4-fpm logging : driver : "json-file" options : max-size : "10m" max-file : "3"
Next Steps
PHP Configuration Customize PHP settings for your application
MSSQL Connection Learn how to connect to SQL Server from PHP
