Synchronize data

You can launch a Docker environment in developer mode, which provides an active development environment with full, writable file system permissions.

If you choose this option, the Adobe Commerce application works only if the Docker containers have access to the Adobe Commerce application data. You can provide access either by directly mapping the current working directory or by using a file synchronization tool.

File synchronization options

The Cloud Docker for Commerce docker-build command provides the --sync-engine <type> option to select the file synchronization behavior when you build the docker-compose.yml configuration file. You can select from the following options:

Option

Description

native

Maps the current working directory to the /app directory on each volume, which provides direct access to the data without requiring any synchronization. The native option is the default and works for Linux hosts. On macOS or Windows hosts, this option results in reduced performance in the Docker environment.

manual-native

Provides manual control over synchronization. Requires running manual commands. This option provides the best performance for macOS and Windows.

mutagen

Uses Mutagen for file synchronization. When you select Mutagen, you must install Mutagen before you launch Docker in developer mode. Use this option on macOS or Windows hosts.

docker-sync

Deprecated in 1.2.3: Uses docker-sync for file synchronization. When you select docker-sync, you must install docker-sync before you launch Docker in developer mode. Use this option on macOS or Windows hosts.

Native option

If you do not specify a --sync-engine option, the Cloud Docker build uses the native option.

When you start Docker with the native file synchronization option, the current working directory maps to the /app folder in the containers:

  fpm:
    volumes:
      - '.:/app'
  build:
    volumes:
      - '.:/app'
  deploy:
    volumes:
      - '.:/app'
  web:
    volumes:
      - '.:/app'
  cron:
    volumes:
      - '.:/app'

Mutagen and manual-native options

On macOS or Windows systems, Adobe recommends using the mutagen or manual-native file synchronization options. You can use these options in the ece-docker build:compose command by adding the option as the value for --sync-engine. For example:

./vendor/bin/ece-docker build:compose --mode="developer" --sync-engine="mutagen"