Distilling Java Containers for Kubernetes

on YouTube ↗01h 01m

" summary

Java that used to over-allocate now respects container limits (use Java 8u191+ or later), and the demo actually shrinks a Spring Boot image from ~184 MB to ~84 MB on Alpine, to ~40 MB with JLink, and down to ~25 MB as a native image built into the container. The pipeline uses Docker multi-stage builds, JDeps analysis, and optional tools like dive and Docker Slim; ahead‑of‑time compilation via GraalVM yields much faster startup and lower memory, and the distilled binary runs correctly.

AI-written summary · about

" chapters (12)

1. 0:00Introduction to Java containers
2. 6:22Distillation pattern explained
3. 17:12Java in containers challenges
4. 22:32JLink and JVM optimizations
5. 27:52Native image with GraalVM
6. 36:46Hands-on demo setup
7. 41:18Building fat Java container
8. 43:11Switching to Alpine base
9. 47:27Multi-stage Docker builds
10. 50:38JLink for smaller JRE
11. 54:31Native image compilation
12. 59:32Q&A and resources

" related talks

• 20mSqueezing Java Containers: Shrinking Your Kubernetes Footprint with jlinkMark Mackenzie · Commit Your Code 2026
• 25mCommit to Excellence - Java in ContainersMarkus Eisele · DevConf.CZ 2020
• 46mJava in a World of ContainersMatthew Gilliard · Voxxed Days Zurich 2019
• 49mJava and Containers Make it AwesomeDino Dinakar Guniguntala · Devnexus 2020
• 31mFast and Distroless Java in Containers: the Recipe!Mikaël Barbero · EclipseCon Europe 2018
• 42mDownsizing. Make Your Java App Containers Ligthweight.Mike Mozalkov · JCON WORLD ONLINE 2023
• 46mJava in Container - Best Practicies for containerized Java AppsMateusz Dyminski · JDD 2019
• 55mDo not put all eggs in one containerDmitry Chuyko · GeeCON 2019