Docker fails to update node_modules after dependency changes in package.json

I'm experiencing an issue where Docker doesn't seem to update the node_modules folder after I modify dependencies in package.json. Even after rebuilding the Docker image and container, the application still throws errors related to the missing dependencies. The changes to node_modules only take effect if I completely remove the container and its associated volume before rebuilding.

Dockerfile:

FROM node:22-alpine

RUN npm install -g npm@latest

USER node

WORKDIR /app

COPY --chown=node:node package.json package-lock.json ./

RUN npm install

COPY . .

EXPOSE 5173

CMD ["npm", "run", "dev"]

docker-compose.yml

services:
  npm-test:
    build: .
    ports:
      - "5173:5173"
    volumes:
      - .:/app
      - node_modules_docker:/app/node_modules

volumes:
  node_modules_docker:

Steps to reproduce:

1. Build and run the container (everything works):

   docker compose up --build
   

2. Remove significant dependencies from package.json e.g. @vitejs/plugin-react

3. Run npm install to update package-lock.json

4. Stop and remove the container, images, and volumes, then rebuild (use the following commands to delete everything, or replace IDs to target specific ones):

   docker stop $(docker ps -q)
   docker rm $(docker ps -aq)
   docker rmi $(docker images -q)
   docker volume rm $(docker volume ls -q)
   
   docker compose up --build
   

5. The following error will show up:

   Error [ERR_MODULE_NOT_FOUND]: Cannot find package '@vitejs/plugin-react' imported from /app/node_modules/.vite-temp/vite.config.ts.timestamp-1733299382139-6e1c72bf771df.mjs

6. Add back the missing dependencies to package.json and run npm install

7. Build and run the container again:

   docker compose up --build
   

8. The app should work again (it is "the same" as in the beginning), but the error persists

Repository with MRE

To achieve the desired behavior where:

1. node_modules is updated on container startup when package.json changes, without needing to remove volumes
2. code changes are reflected immediately in the Docker container during development

I had to modify my Dockerfile as follows:

1. Replaced this:

COPY --chown=node:node package.json package-lock.json ./
RUN npm install
COPY . .

with this:

RUN mkdir -p ./node_modules && chown -R node:node ./node_modules

2. Replaced this:

CMD ["npm", "run", "dev"]

with this:

CMD ["sh", "-c", "npm install && npm run dev"]

Summary

• Removed all COPY instructions, as the files are already available through the mounted volume in docker-compose
• Set correct permissions for node_modules
• Configured npm install to run at container startup to ensure dependencies are updated when package.json changes

Final Dockerfile

FROM node:22-alpine

RUN npm install -g npm@latest

USER node

WORKDIR /app

RUN mkdir -p ./node_modules && chown -R node:node ./node_modules

EXPOSE 5173

CMD ["sh", "-c", "npm install && npm run dev"]