> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.minimus.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Dev vs. Prod Images

> Why Minimus offers dev images with dev tools alongside more minimal production images

Every Minimus image comes in two variants: a production image and a dev image. Both are minimal, secure, and updated daily — but they serve different purposes.

* The production variant is the most minimal build: no shell, no package manager, no development utilities. Just the runtime and its direct dependencies.
* The dev variant includes standard tooling and at least one shell, making it suitable for building, testing, and debugging.

Visit the **Risk Reduction** tab on any image page to compare vulnerability reports for both variants.

## Why production images exclude developer tooling

Security requirements differ by context. In production, a smaller attack surface matters more than convenience. In development, speed and tooling matter more. Minimus lets you optimize for both without compromise.

Every Minimus image version ships as a complementary pair:

* Production image — e.g. `nginx:latest`
* Dev image — e.g. `nginx:latest-dev`

Production images contain only what's needed to run the application. Less code means fewer vulnerabilities, fewer attack vectors, and a smaller blast radius if something goes wrong.

Dev images are built for the inner loop — building, testing, and debugging. They include a shell, a package manager, and common development utilities. They're slightly larger than their production counterpart, but still far leaner and more secure than the official upstream image.

## Using dev images in multi-stage builds

The prod/dev pair is designed for multi-stage workflows. Use the dev image for intermediate build steps — compiling, testing, installing dependencies — then switch to the production image for the final stage. The result is a lean, secure artifact with no build tooling included.