Added an optimized Dockerfile for Next js App Router

Dockerfile

@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+# Base stage (common for both development and production)
+FROM node:lts-alpine AS base
+
+WORKDIR /usr/src/app
+
+# Copy package.json and package-lock.json first (better layer caching)
+COPY package*.json ./
+
+# Install dependencies using npm ci
+RUN npm ci
+
+# Copy the rest of the application code
+COPY . .
+
+# Development stage
+FROM base AS dev
+
+# Expose the port for development
+EXPOSE 3000
+
+# Start the Next.js app in development mode
+CMD ["npm", "run", "dev"]
+
+# Build stage (for production)
+FROM base AS builder
+
+# Build the Next.js app
+RUN npm run build
+
+# Production stage
+FROM node:lts-alpine AS runner
+
+WORKDIR /usr/src/app
+
+# Install only production dependencies
+COPY --from=builder /usr/src/app/package*.json ./
+RUN npm ci --omit=dev
+
+# Copy the built app from the build stage
+COPY --from=builder /usr/src/app/.next ./.next
+# COPY --from=builder /usr/src/app/public ./public
+COPY --from=builder /usr/src/app/next.config.mjs ./
+COPY --from=builder /usr/src/app/vercel.json ./ 
+COPY --from=builder /usr/src/app/.env ./.env 
+
+# Set the environment variable to production
+ENV NODE_ENV=production
+
+# Expose the port for production
+EXPOSE 3000
+
+# Run the Next.js app in standalone production mode
+CMD ["npm", "run", "start"]

README.md

@@ -75,6 +75,27 @@ LoanManagement implements a comprehensive RBAC system:
 
 6. Open [http://localhost:3000](http://localhost:3000) in your browser to see the application.
 
+## Getting Started with Docker
+
+Ensure you have the [Docker](https://docs.docker.com/get-docker/) installed
+
+-  Build the image for development:
+
+   ```bash
+   docker build --target dev -t loan_dev .
+   ```
+-  Start the container for development:
+   ```bash
+   docker run -p 3000:3000 --env-file .env loan_dev
+   ```
+- Build the image for production:
+   ```bash
+   docker build --target runner -t loan_prod .
+   ```
+-  Start the container for production:
+   ```bash
+   ddocker run -p 3000:3000 --env-file .env loan_prod
+   ```
 ## Deployment
 
 This application can be easily deployed on Vercel, the platform created by the creators of Next.js. For other deployment options, refer to the [Next.js deployment documentation](https://nextjs.org/docs/deployment).