Which statement best describes the purpose of Dockerfiles?

The purpose of Dockerfiles is to specify the steps to create a Docker image. A Dockerfile is a text document that contains all the commands needed to assemble an image. These commands could include instructions for setting up the environment, copying files, installing packages, and defining default behaviors for the container that will run on the specified image.

This allows developers to automate the process of creating container images, ensuring that the environment is consistently built and can be easily replicated. Additionally, by using Dockerfiles, teams can version control their images alongside their application code, making it easier to manage updates and changes over time. The other options, while related to Docker in some capacity, do not accurately capture the primary function of Dockerfiles.