[FR] Generate files for deployment via Google Cloud Run

[christophscheuch]

I love golem, thanks for all the hard work 🙏 It would be great to have a function that creates the necessary files for hosting a golem app via Google Cloud Run (GCR) connected to the GitHub repo.

I have experimented with golem and GCR last week and successfully deployed a few apps (e.g. https://github.com/tidy-intelligence/app-debt-network-visualizer), so I have an idea on which files need to be generated and what they should look like.

I'm happy to create a PR, if you also believe this is a good new feature. However, I have a few upfront questions:

• What is the best name for this function? add_dockerfile_google_cloud_run / add_dockerfile_googlecloudrun / add_dockerfile_gcr?
• I think that it is wise to use Shiny Server (which is included in rocker/shiny anyway) as default to run the app. However, this also means creating a shiny-server.conf file that maps the app path to the root (assuming that each container ships a single app). Is it ok to add a shiny_server = TRUE option? EDIT: on second thought, the option should be FALSE as default because the typical use case might be that the resulting container is used in ShinyProxy.

Thanks,
Christoph

[VincentGuyader]

For building Dockerfiles to deploy applications, I now prefer relying on renv to better handle complex cases.
In your Dockerfile here: https://github.com/tidy-intelligence/app-debt-network-visualizer/blob/main/Dockerfile, you don’t specify any version numbers and you’re using the latest tag from rocker/shiny, which could lead to issues at some point.
Even if we use remotes::install_version to install specific versions of packages, we have no control over which versions of the dependencies will be installed.
That’s why I prefer exporting an renv.lock file for every generated Dockerfile. You see what I mean?

Looking at your Dockerfile, I’m thinking a call to golem::add_dockerfile_with_renv(port = 8080) should generate something suitable for Google Cloud, right? I’d love to hear your thoughts on that.

And if needed, we could even code a golem::add_dockerfile_with_renv_gloud() function if any specific adjustments are required.

[christophscheuch]

Thanks for getting back on this. Yes, I totally agree about the general renv part and rocker version for production settings, I just ignored those in the specific app. I have not tested it yet, but the Dockerfile from golem::add_dockerfile_with_renv(port = 8080) looks good. I have two more questions:

• Do you strictly prefer rocker/verse over rocker/shiny? I use the latter in my apps because of Shiny Server.
• Do you see any value in providing golem users with the option to use the Shiny Server default that I described above? If you host the app via ShinyProxy, then you don't need it. If you host it via the web, then I see no reason to not use Shiny Server.