yaml
services:
web:
image: nginx:alpine
ports:
- "8080:80"Notes
Use this for browser access from the host.
Docker Compose Networking, Volumes, and Runtime Controls
Compose patterns for ports, networks, volumes, secrets, configs, and runtime controls.
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Ports and Networks
Publish ports and design inter-service connectivity.
Bind only on localhost
Publishes the service only to the local machine.
yamlANYdockercomposeportssecurity
yaml
services:
db:
image: postgres:16
ports:
- "127.0.0.1:5432:5432"Notes
Useful for local databases not meant for LAN exposure.
Attach services to custom network
Defines multiple named networks for segmentation.
yamlANYdockercomposenetworks
yaml
services:
web:
image: nginx:alpine
networks: ["frontend"]
api:
image: myapi:latest
networks: ["frontend", "backend"]
networks:
frontend: {}
backend: {}Notes
Great for separating public and private service paths.
Set network aliases
Adds alternate DNS names for a service on a network.
yamlANYdockercomposenetwork-alias
yaml
services:
api:
image: myapi:latest
networks:
backend:
aliases:
- internal-api
networks:
backend: {}Notes
Useful when multiple apps expect a specific hostname.
bash
docker compose port web 80Notes
Useful when ports were assigned dynamically.
Volumes and Storage
Persist data and mount source code or configs.
Named volume for persistent data
Stores database data in a managed named volume.
yamlANYdockercomposevolumesstorage
yaml
services:
db:
image: postgres:16
volumes:
- pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data
volumes:
pgdata: {}Notes
Preferred over bind mounts for durable container data.
Bind mount local source
Mounts the current directory into the container.
yamlANYdockercomposebind-mount
yaml
services:
app:
image: node:20
working_dir: /app
volumes:
- ./:/appNotes
Very common for live-reload development flows.
Read-only bind mount
Mounts a host file as read-only in the container.
yamlANYdockercomposereadonlymount
yaml
services:
nginx:
image: nginx:alpine
volumes:
- ./nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf:roNotes
Good for config files that should not be modified in-place.
Use tmpfs mount
Creates an in-memory temporary filesystem for the service.
yamlANYdockercomposetmpfs
yaml
services:
app:
image: myapp:latest
tmpfs:
- /tmpNotes
Useful for ephemeral scratch data.
Remove stack and its volumes
Tears down the project and deletes named volumes created for it.
bashANYdockercomposevolumescleanup
bash
docker compose down -vNotes
Use with caution on any stateful stack.
Configs and Secrets Patterns
Inject files and sensitive values into services.
yaml
services:
api:
image: myapi:latest
secrets:
- app_key
secrets:
app_key:
file: ./secrets/app_key.txtNotes
Useful for credentials and tokens you do not want inline in YAML.
Mount a config file
Provides a structured way to mount a config artifact.
yamlANYdockercomposeconfigs
yaml
services:
nginx:
image: nginx:alpine
configs:
- source: nginx_conf
target: /etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf
configs:
nginx_conf:
file: ./nginx/default.confNotes
Helpful when treating config as a managed resource.
Resource and Runtime Controls
Control runtime behavior and limits.
Restart policy
Restarts the service unless it is explicitly stopped.
yamlANYdockercomposerestart-policy
yaml
services:
api:
image: myapi:latest
restart: unless-stoppedNotes
A common default for long-running local or small-host services.
Raise ulimits
Sets per-container ulimits for file handles and similar resources.
yamlANYdockercomposeulimits
yaml
services:
app:
image: myapp:latest
ulimits:
nofile:
soft: 65535
hard: 65535Notes
Useful for proxies, databases, and event-driven services.
yaml
services:
app:
image: myapp:latest
extra_hosts:
- "host.docker.internal:host-gateway"Notes
Helpful for connecting back to services on the Docker host.
More in Docker Compose
Docker Compose Dev, Debugging, CI, and Production Patterns
Developer workflows, troubleshooting commands, CI flows, and small-host production Compose patterns.
Docker Compose Files and YAML Patterns
compose.yaml examples for services, variables, profiles, overrides, and dependency-aware startup.
Docker Compose Cheat Sheet
Commands for starting, stopping, inspecting, and operating Docker Compose projects.