How does ".dockerignore" impact the Docker image build process?

The ".dockerignore" file plays a very important role in optimizing Docker image builds. When building an image, the Docker includes all files in the build context directory by default. However, this can lead to bloated images if unnecessary files are included.

Simply put, the ".dockerignore" file allows you to specify patterns of files or directories that should be excluded from the build context. As a result, Docker won't consider these files during the build, reducing the image size. This is especially important for ignoring temporary files, development artifacts, and large datasets that shouldn't be part of the final image.