Docker Compose overview

Important

Docker's documentation refers to and describes Compose V2 functionality.

Effective July 2023, Compose V1 stopped receiving updates and is no longer in new Docker Desktop releases. Compose V2 has replaced it and is now integrated into all current Docker Desktop versions. For more information, see Migrate to Compose V2.

Compose is a tool for defining and running multi-container Docker applications. With Compose, you use a YAML file to configure your application's services. Then, with a single command, you create and start all the services from your configuration.

Compose works in all environments; production, staging, development, testing, as well as CI workflows. It also has commands for managing the whole lifecycle of your application:

Start, stop, and rebuild services
View the status of running services
Stream the log output of running services
Run a one-off command on a service

The key features of Compose that make it effective are:

download

Install Compose

Follow the instructions on how to install Docker Compose.

explore

Try Compose

Learn the key concepts of Docker Compose whilst building a simple Python web application.

note_add

View the release notes

Find out about the latest enhancements and bug fixes.