I am using this docker command to create a pdf file in headless mode.
It is working as expected.

# docker run --rm -v .:/workspace shantanuo/libreoffice-converter /workspace/pm_in_paris.odt --outdir /workspace

This is my docker file:

# vi Dockerfile
FROM ubuntu:latest

RUN apt-get update && 
    apt-get install -y libreoffice

WORKDIR /workspace

ENTRYPOINT ["libreoffice", "--headless", "--convert-to", "pdf"]

But I am not able to apply a template before creating a pdf file.

FROM ubuntu:latest
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y libreoffice python3 python3-venv
RUN python3 -m venv /workspace/venv

RUN /workspace/venv/bin/pip install --upgrade pip
RUN /workspace/venv/bin/pip install unotools

COPY * /workspace/
WORKDIR /workspace

CMD ["/workspace/venv/bin/python3", "/workspace/convert_to_pdf.py", "/workspace/paris.odt", "/workspace/template.ott", "/workspace/output.pdf"]

I built docker image using the above mentioned file and run it:

docker run -it  shantanuo/libreoffice-converter2 bash

I execute this command from the docker container:

root@8a6d5682dcfa:/workspace# soffice --headless --accept="pipe,name=libreoffice;urp;StarOffice.ComponentContext" & python3 /workspace/convert_to_pdf.py /workspace/in_paris.odt /workspace/maaya.ott /workspace/

And get this error:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/workspace/convert_to_pdf.py", line 42, in <module>
    apply_template_and_convert_to_pdf(args.document, args.template, args.output)
  File "/workspace/convert_to_pdf.py", line 22, in apply_template_and_convert_to_pdf
    document.applyTemplate(template)
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
AttributeError: applyTemplate

It looks like applyTemplate property is not available.

cat convert_to_pdf.py

import uno
import argparse

def apply_template_and_convert_to_pdf(document_path, template_path, output_path):
    # Create the LibreOffice UNO connection
    local_context = uno.getComponentContext()
    resolver = local_context.ServiceManager.createInstanceWithContext("com.sun.star.bridge.UnoUrlResolver", local_context)

...
...

    document.applyTemplate(template)

...
...

Any suggestion will be appreciated.

Update:

If I run these 3 commands, I get the expected output.

docker run -it  shantanuo/libreoffice-converter2 bash

soffice --headless --accept="socket,host=localhost,port=2002;urp;" &    

soffice --headless --accept="pipe,name=libreoffice;urp;StarOffice.ComponentContext" & python3 /workspace/updated3.py /workspace/ra.txt /workspace/prajakta.ott

I just need them to be part of dockerfile.

Update 2:

I expect the converted PDF file to be available in the current directory if I use this command…

docker run -v .:/workspace/ -d shantanuo/libreoffice-converter4

Even if I have this Dockerfile, I still need to run last 3 commands manually.

FROM ubuntu:latest
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y libreoffice python3 python3-venv
RUN python3 -m venv /workspace/venv

RUN /workspace/venv/bin/pip install --upgrade pip
RUN /workspace/venv/bin/pip install unotools

COPY * /workspace/
WORKDIR /workspace

CMD soffice --headless --accept="socket,host=localhost,port=2002;urp;" &    

CMD soffice --headless --accept="pipe,name=libreoffice;urp;StarOffice.ComponentContext" &

CMD ["python3", "/workspace/updated3.py", "/workspace/ra.txt", "/workspace/prajakta.ott"]

I need to start the container, connect to “bash” and then execute the commands one by one:

docker run -it shantanuo/libreoffice-converter3  bash

Not able to achieve complete automation.