Docker build fails with "failed to solve: the Dockerfile cannot be empty" error

Question

I'm encountering an issue while trying to build a Docker image for my Python application. Whenever I run the docker build command, I'm getting the following error:

ERROR: failed to solve: the Dockerfile cannot be empty

Here's my Dockerfile:

# Use an official Python runtime as the base image
FROM python:latest

# Set the working directory in the container
WORKDIR /app

# Copy the current directory contents into the container at /app
COPY . .

# Install any needed dependencies specified in requirements.txt
# RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt

# Make port 80 available to the world outside this container
EXPOSE 80

# Define environment variable
ENV NAME World

# Run name.py when the container launches
CMD ["python", "name.py"]

And here's the content of my name.py file: print("Hello World!")

I'm confused as to why Docker is complaining that the Dockerfile is empty when it contains instructions. Any ideas on what might be causing this issue?

Additional Information:

Docker version: Docker version 25.0.3 Operating system: Windows

Answer 1

Resolved: Docker build error "failed to solve: the Dockerfile cannot be empty"

After further investigation, I realized that the issue was caused by not saving the changes made in my code editor (VS Code) before attempting to build the Docker image.

It turns out that the Docker build process requires the Dockerfile and any related files to be saved in order to be properly recognized. Once I saved the changes made to my Dockerfile and other related files in VS Code, the docker build command worked as expected without any errors.

I apologize for the confusion and appreciate the assistance provided. Hopefully, this solution helps others who might encounter a similar issue in the future.