Lean container images dictate deployment velocity and security.

Large container images are a systemic drag on engineering pipelines. They introduce network latency during pulls, increase attack surface through unnecessary packages, and inflate storage costs at scale. The relationship between image size and system performance is direct and unforgiving.

Achieving optimal image size is not about a single tool, but a disciplined methodology.

Key strategies include:

• Multi-stage builds: This technique is fundamental for segregating build-time dependencies from the final runtime artifact. The resulting