docker/compose

Docker Compose is the official tool for running several containers as one application: a web app, its database, a cache and a reverse proxy, all declared in one YAML file and started with a single command. The repository has about 38k stars and is maintained by Docker, Inc. under the Apache 2.0 licence. Version 2, the current line, is written in Go and runs as a plugin of the docker CLI, so the command is docker compose with a space.

What it does

Compose reads compose.yaml (or the older docker-compose.yml) and creates the networks, volumes and containers it describes, in dependency order. It names everything after the project directory, so several projects can run side by side without clashes. docker compose up starts, down removes, logs aggregates output, and watch rebuilds or syncs files when source code changes.

When to use it

• Local development environments that need a database or other services next to the app.
• Single-host deployments of small applications, where Kubernetes would be more than you need.
• Reproducible test setups in CI pipelines, started and torn down per run.

For multi-host clusters, self-healing and rolling updates, look at Kubernetes or Docker Swarm instead; Compose files can be a starting point for both.

How to install or try it

Compose is included in Docker Desktop on macOS and Windows. On Linux it is the docker-compose-plugin package from Docker’s repository, installed alongside Docker Engine:

sudo apt install docker-compose-plugin
docker compose version

The repository’s docs folder links to the reference, and the awesome-compose project in the same GitHub organisation (docker/awesome-compose) has ready-made examples for common stacks.

Credit

Docker Compose is developed by Docker, Inc. and its contributors; it began as the independent project Fig by Orchard before Docker acquired it in 2014. Source and issue tracker: github.com/docker/compose. Documentation: docs.docker.com/compose.