Is `FROM` clause required in Dockerfile?

Question

For all the Dockerfiles I\'ve come across thus (which admittedly is not many), all of them have used a FROM clause to base off an existing image, even if it\'s

Answer 1

Based on the official documentation it's required:

The FROM instruction initializes a new build stage and sets the Base Image for subsequent instructions. As such, a valid Dockerfile MUST start with a FROM instruction. The image can be any valid image – it is especially easy to start by pulling an image from the Public Repositories.

https://docs.docker.com/engine/reference/builder/#from