Docker Compose

Comprehensive guide to Docker Compose for defining and running multi-container Docker applications with YAML configuration files.

Docker Compose Orchestration

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Useful Links

Related Videos

Docker Fundamentals
Container Networking
Multi-Service Applications

Disclaimer

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Please read our disclaimer https://docs.ibracorp.io/disclaimer

Credits

Role	Contributor
Writer / Producer	Sycotix
Video Recording and Voice	Sycotix
Contributor	North
Testing / Proofreading	Hawks, DiscDuck

Feature List

Multi-Container Application Management

YAML Configuration - Define complex applications in simple files
Service Orchestration - Manage multiple containers as a unit
Network Management - Automatic network creation and isolation
Volume Management - Persistent data storage across containers
Environment Variables - Configuration through .env files
Dependency Management - Service startup order control
Scaling Support - Scale services up or down
Override Capabilities - Environment-specific configurations
Development Workflows - Perfect for development environments
Production Deployment - Suitable for production with proper configuration

Installation

Ubuntu Installation

Install Docker Compose v2

# Update package database
sudo apt update

# Install Docker Compose plugin (recommended)
sudo apt install docker-compose-plugin

# Verify installation
docker compose version

Alternative: Install Docker Compose v1

# Install legacy version
sudo apt install docker-compose

# Verify installation
docker-compose --version

Manual Installation

Download Latest Release

# Download Docker Compose binary
sudo curl -L "https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/latest/download/docker-compose-$(uname -s)-$(uname -m)" -o /usr/local/bin/docker-compose

# Make executable
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/docker-compose

# Verify installation
docker-compose --version

Basic Configuration

Simple Docker Compose File

docker-compose.yml Structure

version: '3.8'

services:
  web:
    image: nginx:latest
    container_name: my-nginx
    ports:
      - "80:80"
    volumes:
      - ./html:/usr/share/nginx/html:ro
    restart: unless-stopped
    networks:
      - webnet

  database:
    image: mysql:8.0
    container_name: my-mysql
    environment:
      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: secretpassword
      MYSQL_DATABASE: myapp
      MYSQL_USER: appuser
      MYSQL_PASSWORD: apppass
    volumes:
      - mysql_data:/var/lib/mysql
    restart: unless-stopped
    networks:
      - webnet

volumes:
  mysql_data:

networks:
  webnet:
    driver: bridge

Environment Variables

Using .env Files

# Create .env file
nano .env

# Database Configuration
MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=your-secure-password
MYSQL_DATABASE=myapp
MYSQL_USER=appuser
MYSQL_PASSWORD=another-secure-password

# Application Configuration
APP_ENV=production
APP_DEBUG=false

Reference in Compose File

version: '3.8'

services:
  database:
    image: mysql:8.0
    environment:
      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: ${MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD}
      MYSQL_DATABASE: ${MYSQL_DATABASE}
      MYSQL_USER: ${MYSQL_USER}
      MYSQL_PASSWORD: ${MYSQL_PASSWORD}

Advanced Configuration

Multi-Service Application

Complete Application Stack

version: '3.8'

services:
  # Frontend Web Server
  nginx:
    image: nginx:alpine
    container_name: app-nginx
    ports:
      - "80:80"
      - "443:443"
    volumes:
      - ./nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf:ro
      - ./ssl:/etc/nginx/ssl:ro
      - web_content:/var/www/html
    depends_on:
      - app
    restart: unless-stopped
    networks:
      - frontend
      - backend

  # Application Server
  app:
    build:
      context: ./app
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
    container_name: app-server
    environment:
      - DATABASE_URL=mysql://appuser:${MYSQL_PASSWORD}@database:3306/myapp
      - REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379
    volumes:
      - web_content:/var/www/html
      - ./app/config:/app/config:ro
    depends_on:
      - database
      - redis
    restart: unless-stopped
    networks:
      - backend

  # Database
  database:
    image: mysql:8.0
    container_name: app-mysql
    environment:
      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: ${MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD}
      MYSQL_DATABASE: ${MYSQL_DATABASE}
      MYSQL_USER: ${MYSQL_USER}
      MYSQL_PASSWORD: ${MYSQL_PASSWORD}
    volumes:
      - mysql_data:/var/lib/mysql
      - ./mysql/init:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d:ro
    restart: unless-stopped
    networks:
      - backend

  # Redis Cache
  redis:
    image: redis:alpine
    container_name: app-redis
    command: redis-server --appendonly yes
    volumes:
      - redis_data:/data
    restart: unless-stopped
    networks:
      - backend

volumes:
  mysql_data:
  redis_data:
  web_content:

networks:
  frontend:
    driver: bridge
  backend:
    driver: bridge
    internal: true

Override Files

Development Override

# docker-compose.override.yml
version: '3.8'

services:
  app:
    environment:
      - APP_ENV=development
      - APP_DEBUG=true
    volumes:
      - ./app/src:/app/src
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"

  database:
    ports:
      - "3306:3306"

Production Override

# docker-compose.prod.yml
version: '3.8'

services:
  app:
    deploy:
      replicas: 3
      resources:
        limits:
          memory: 512M
        reservations:
          memory: 256M

  nginx:
    volumes:
      - /etc/letsencrypt:/etc/letsencrypt:ro

Essential Commands

Basic Operations

Lifecycle Management

# Start all services
docker compose up -d

# View running services
docker compose ps

# View logs
docker compose logs

# Follow logs in real-time
docker compose logs -f

# Stop all services
docker compose stop

# Remove stopped containers
docker compose down

# Remove containers and volumes
docker compose down -v

Development Workflow

Development Commands

# Build images
docker compose build

# Pull latest images
docker compose pull

# Restart specific service
docker compose restart nginx

# Scale a service
docker compose up -d --scale app=3

# Execute commands in container
docker compose exec app bash

# View container processes
docker compose top

Troubleshooting Commands

Debugging and Maintenance

# Validate compose file
docker compose config

# View detailed service information
docker compose ps --services

# Check resource usage
docker stats $(docker compose ps -q)

# Remove unused images
docker image prune

# Remove unused volumes
docker volume prune

Networking

Custom Networks

Network Configuration

version: '3.8'

services:
  web:
    image: nginx
    networks:
      - frontend

  app:
    image: myapp
    networks:
      - frontend
      - backend

  database:
    image: mysql
    networks:
      - backend

networks:
  frontend:
    driver: bridge
    ipam:
      config:
        - subnet: 172.20.0.0/16

  backend:
    driver: bridge
    internal: true

External Networks

Using Existing Networks

version: '3.8'

services:
  app:
    image: myapp
    networks:
      - existing-network

networks:
  existing-network:
    external: true

Volume Management

Named Volumes

Persistent Data Storage

version: '3.8'

services:
  database:
    image: postgres
    volumes:
      - postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
      - ./backups:/backups

volumes:
  postgres_data:
    driver: local
    driver_opts:
      type: none
      o: bind
      device: /opt/docker/postgres

Bind Mounts

Host Directory Mapping

version: '3.8'

services:
  web:
    image: nginx
    volumes:
      - type: bind
        source: ./html
        target: /usr/share/nginx/html
        read_only: true
      - type: bind
        source: ./nginx.conf
        target: /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
        read_only: true

Best Practices

Security

Security Hardening

version: '3.8'

services:
  app:
    image: myapp
    user: "1000:1000"
    read_only: true
    tmpfs:
      - /tmp
    security_opt:
      - no-new-privileges:true
    cap_drop:
      - ALL
    cap_add:
      - NET_BIND_SERVICE

Performance

Resource Management

version: '3.8'

services:
  app:
    image: myapp
    deploy:
      resources:
        limits:
          cpus: '0.5'
          memory: 512M
        reservations:
          cpus: '0.25'
          memory: 256M
    restart: unless-stopped
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:3000/health"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 3

Special Thanks

Docker Team for creating Docker Compose
Community Contributors for extensive documentation and examples
To our fantastic Discord community and our Admins DiscDuck and Hawks for their input and testing

Please support the developers and creators involved in this work to help show them some love. ❤️

Final Words

We hope you enjoyed this guide. It was conceptualized, written, and implemented by our Admin Sycotix.

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Thank you for being part of our community!

Credits​

Feature List​

Installation​

Ubuntu Installation​

Manual Installation​

Basic Configuration​

Simple Docker Compose File​

Environment Variables​

Advanced Configuration​

Multi-Service Application​

Override Files​

Essential Commands​

Basic Operations​

Development Workflow​

Troubleshooting Commands​

Networking​

Custom Networks​

External Networks​

Volume Management​

Named Volumes​

Bind Mounts​

Best Practices​

Security​

Performance​

Special Thanks​

Final Words​

Support Us​