Dockerfile fails on distroless base due to missing /bin/sh (e.g., when used with Smithery)

[asifdotpy]

Describe the bug

The Dockerfile in this repository uses gcr.io/distroless/base-debian12 as the base image, which does not include a shell (/bin/sh). As a result, any RUN step that tries to execute shell commands (e.g., checking for Alpine or installing dependencies) fails. This breaks automated build tools such as Smithery.ai which rely on these steps to work correctly.

Affected version

Please run docker run -i --rm ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server ./github-mcp-server --version and paste the output below

Pending output from docker command (replace this with actual output)

Steps to reproduce the behavior

1. Fork or clone the MCP Server repo.
2. Try to deploy it using https://smithery.ai
3. See error due to Dockerfile failure caused by the shell-less base image.

Expected vs actual behavior

Expected: The Dockerfile should work with shell-based commands or use a multi-stage build process that avoids distroless shells during installation steps.

Actual: Build fails with an error:

The Dockerfile in this repository is broken. It attempts to run a shell command (/bin/sh) in the distroless base image...

This makes it incompatible with common CI/CD workflows and server platforms.

Logs

Found Dockerfile in repository.
Could not find smithery.yaml in repository. Generating... (this could take 10 minutes)
Failed to generate missing build config files. Reason:
Error type: build_failure
Reason:
The Dockerfile in this repository is broken. It attempts to run a shell command (/bin/sh) in the distroless base image (gcr.io/distroless/base-debian12), which does not include a shell. This occurs in the RUN step that checks for Alpine Linux and installs additional libraries. Please modify the Dockerfile to either remove or adjust that RUN command (for example, by using a base image that provides a shell or by executing that logic during the build stage instead).
Could not pull or automatically generate required build config files. Please create the build config files manually in your repository and try again.

[SamMorrowDrums]

Hi @asifdotpy, I am not able to try it myself at this moment but I can clarify:

use a multi-stage build process that avoids distroless shells during installation steps.

We copy the binary into a distroless image in the final stage of our multi-stage build so users have a smaller image to pull and reduced surface area for vulnerabilities inside the image.

I can't comment on if that decision might change, but in the meantime you are welcome to fork the repo and experiment with a different base image for that step if you would like to test it with 3rd party services like this.