A multi-platform build produces software artifacts for more than one operating-system or processor platform. Docker can build Linux images for Arm and Intel targets even when the builder uses only one architecture, provided the application tools and base images support those targets. section 12.1
Separate platform-tagged images are not yet a multi-platform image: users must choose the correct tag. A multi-platform image publishes several variants under one name, allowing Docker to select the variant matching the host OS and CPU. section 12.1 section 12.0
A practical workflow uses:
- Emulation through Docker Desktop's QEMU support, or separately installed QEMU with Docker Engine on Linux. section 12.1
- A multi-stage Dockerfile whose compiler and base images provide variants for the target platforms. section 12.1
- CI/CD automation that compiles, tests, and publishes images, including builds on Windows and Linux agents with GitHub Actions. section 16.0
Build and inspect two Linux variants
Build the same application for linux/arm64 and linux/amd64 with Docker's platform flag, then inspect each image's OS and architecture. Docker can run the matching artifact on a genuine Arm or Intel machine. section 12.1
