# Bake


Bake is a feature of Docker Buildx that lets you define your build configuration
using a declarative file, as opposed to specifying a complex CLI expression. It
also lets you run multiple builds concurrently with a single invocation.

A Bake file can be written in HCL or JSON format. Bake can also build directly
from a [Docker Compose file](/build/compose-file/). Here's an example Bake file in
HCL format:

```hcl {title=docker-bake.hcl}
group "default" {
  targets = ["frontend", "backend"]
}

target "frontend" {
  context = "./frontend"
  dockerfile = "frontend.Dockerfile"
  args = {
    NODE_VERSION = "22"
  }
  tags = ["myapp/frontend:latest"]
}

target "backend" {
  context = "./backend"
  dockerfile = "backend.Dockerfile"
  args = {
    GO_VERSION = "1.25"
  }
  tags = ["myapp/backend:latest"]
}
```

The `group` block defines a group of targets that can be built concurrently.
Each `target` block defines a build target with its own configuration, such as
the build context, Dockerfile, and tags.

To invoke a build using the above Bake file, you can run:

```console
$ docker buildx bake
```

This executes the `default` group, which builds the `frontend` and `backend`
targets concurrently.

## Get started

To learn how to get started with Bake, head over to the [Bake introduction](/build/introduction/).