Docker Compose Orchestration

Docker Compose Orchestration

A comprehensive skill for orchestrating multi-container applications using Docker Compose. This skill enables rapid development, deployment, and management of containerized applications with service definitions, networking strategies, volume management, health checks, and production-ready configurations.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• Building multi-container applications (microservices, full-stack apps)
• Setting up development environments with databases, caching, and services
• Orchestrating frontend, backend, and database services together
• Managing service dependencies and startup order
• Configuring networks and inter-service communication
• Implementing persistent storage with volumes
• Deploying applications to development, staging, or production
• Creating reproducible development environments
• Managing application lifecycle (start, stop, rebuild, scale)
• Monitoring application health and implementing health checks
• Migrating from single containers to multi-service architectures
• Testing distributed systems locally

Core Concepts

Docker Compose Philosophy

Docker Compose simplifies multi-container application management through:

• Declarative Configuration: Define entire application stacks in YAML
• Service Abstraction: Each component is a service with its own configuration
• Automatic Networking: Services can communicate by name automatically
• Volume Management: Persistent data and shared storage across containers
• Environment Isolation: Each project gets its own network namespace
• Reproducibility: Same configuration works across all environments

Key Docker Compose Entities

1. Services: Individual containers and their configurations 2. Networks: Communication channels between services 3. Volumes: Persistent storage and data sharing 4. Configs: Non-sensitive configuration files 5. Secrets: Sensitive data (passwords, API keys) 6. Projects: Collection of services under a single namespace

Compose File Structure

version: "3.8"  # Compose file format version

services:       # Define containers
  service-name:
    # Service configuration

networks:       # Define custom networks
  network-name:
    # Network configuration

volumes:        # Define named volumes
  volume-name:
    # Volume configuration

configs:        # Application configs (optional)
  config-name:
    # Config source

secrets:        # Sensitive data (optional)
  secret-name:
    # Secret source

Service Definition Patterns

Basic Service Definition

services:
  web:
    image: nginx:alpine           # Use existing image
    container_name: my-web        # Custom container name
    restart: unless-stopped       # Restart policy
    ports:
      - "80:80"                   # Host:Container port mapping
    environment:
      - ENV_VAR=value             # Environment variables
    volumes:
      - ./html:/usr/share/nginx/html  # Volume mount
    networks:
      - frontend                  # Connect to network

Build-Based Service

services:
  app:
    build:
      context: ./app              # Build context directory
      dockerfile: Dockerfile      # Custom Dockerfile
      args:                       # Build arguments
        NODE_ENV: development
      target: development         # Multi-stage build target
    image: myapp:latest           # Tag resulting image
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"

Service with Dependencies

services:
  web:
    image: nginx
    depends_on:
      db:
        condition: service_healthy  # Wait for health check
      redis:
        condition: service_started  # Wait for start only

  db:
    image: postgres:15
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U postgres"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5
      start_period: 30s

  redis:
    image: redis:alpine

Service with Advanced Configuration

services:
  backend:
    build: ./backend
    command: npm run dev          # Override default command
    working_dir: /app             # Set working directory
    user: "1000:1000"             # Run as specific user
    hostname: api-server          # Custom hostname
    domainname: example.com       # Domain name
    env_file:
      - .env                      # Load env from file
      - .env.local
    environment:
      DATABASE_URL: "postgresql://db:5432/myapp"
      REDIS_URL: "redis://cache:6379"
    volumes:
      - ./backend:/app            # Source code mount
      - /app/node_modules         # Preserve node_modules
      - app-data:/data            # Named volume
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"               # Application port
      - "9229:9229"               # Debug port
    expose:
      - "8080"                    # Expose to other services only
    networks:
      - backend
      - frontend
    labels:
      - "com.example.description=Backend API"
      - "com.example.version=1.0"
    logging:
      driver: json-file
      options:
        max-size: "10m"
        max-file: "3"
    deploy:
      resources:
        limits:
          cpus: '2'
          memory: 1G
        reservations:
          cpus: '0.5'
          memory: 512M

Multi-Container Application Patterns

Pattern 1: Full-Stack Web Application

Scenario: React frontend + Node.js backend + PostgreSQL database

version: "3.8"

services:
  # Frontend React Application
  frontend:
    build:
      context: ./frontend
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
      target: development
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    volumes:
      - ./frontend/src:/app/src
      - /app/node_modules
    environment:
      - REACT_APP_API_URL=http://localhost:4000/api
      - CHOKIDAR_USEPOLLING=true  # For hot reload
    networks:
      - frontend
    depends_on:
      - backend

  # Backend Node.js API
  backend:
    build:
      context: ./backend
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
    ports:
      - "4000:4000"
      - "9229:9229"  # Debugger
    volumes:
      - ./backend:/app
      - /app/node_modules
    environment:
      - NODE_ENV=development
      - DATABASE_URL=postgresql://postgres:password@db:5432/myapp
      - REDIS_URL=redis://cache:6379
      - JWT_SECRET=dev-secret
    env_file:
      - ./backend/.env.local
    networks:
      - frontend
      - backend
    depends_on:
      db:
        condition: service_healthy
      cache:
        condition: service_started
    command: npm run dev

  # PostgreSQL Database
  db:
    image: postgres:15-alpine
    container_name: postgres-db
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "5432:5432"
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_USER=postgres
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=password
      - POSTGRES_DB=myapp
    volumes:
      - postgres-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
      - ./database/init.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/init.sql
    networks:
      - backend
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U postgres"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5

  # Redis Cache
  cache:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    container_name: redis-cache
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "6379:6379"
    volumes:
      - redis-data:/data
    networks:
      - backend
    command: redis-server --appendonly yes
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "redis-cli", "ping"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 3s
      retries: 5

networks:
  frontend:
    driver: bridge
  backend:
    driver: bridge

volumes:
  postgres-data:
    driver: local
  redis-data:
    driver: local

Pattern 2: Microservices Architecture

Scenario: Multiple services with reverse proxy and service discovery

version: "3.8"

services:
  # NGINX Reverse Proxy
  proxy:
    image: nginx:alpine
    container_name: reverse-proxy
    ports:
      - "80:80"
      - "443:443"
    volumes:
      - ./nginx/nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf:ro
      - ./nginx/conf.d:/etc/nginx/conf.d:ro
      - ./ssl:/etc/nginx/ssl:ro
    networks:
      - public
    depends_on:
      - auth-service
      - user-service
      - order-service
    restart: unless-stopped

  # Authentication Service
  auth-service:
    build: ./services/auth
    container_name: auth-service
    expose:
      - "8001"
    environment:
      - SERVICE_NAME=auth
      - DATABASE_URL=postgresql://db:5432/auth_db
      - JWT_SECRET=${JWT_SECRET}
    networks:
      - public
      - internal
    depends_on:
      db:
        condition: service_healthy
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:8001/health"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 3

  # User Service
  user-service:
    build: ./services/user
    container_name: user-service
    expose:
      - "8002"
    environment:
      - SERVICE_NAME=user
      - DATABASE_URL=postgresql://db:5432/user_db
      - AUTH_SERVICE_URL=http://auth-service:8001
    networks:
      - public
      - internal
    depends_on:
      - auth-service
      - db
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:8002/health"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 3

  # Order Service
  order-service:
    build: ./services/order
    container_name: order-service
    expose:
      - "8003"
    environment:
      - SERVICE_NAME=order
      - DATABASE_URL=postgresql://db:5432/order_db
      - USER_SERVICE_URL=http://user-service:8002
      - RABBITMQ_URL=amqp://rabbitmq:5672
    networks:
      - public
      - internal
    depends_on:
      - user-service
      - db
      - rabbitmq
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:8003/health"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 3

  # Shared PostgreSQL Database
  db:
    image: postgres:15-alpine
    container_name: postgres-db
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_USER=postgres
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=${DB_PASSWORD}
    volumes:
      - postgres-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
      - ./database/init-multi-db.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/init.sql
    networks:
      - internal
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U postgres"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5

  # RabbitMQ Message Broker
  rabbitmq:
    image: rabbitmq:3-management-alpine
    container_name: rabbitmq
    ports:
      - "5672:5672"   # AMQP
      - "15672:15672" # Management UI
    environment:
      - RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_USER=admin
      - RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_PASS=${RABBITMQ_PASSWORD}
    volumes:
      - rabbitmq-data:/var/lib/rabbitmq
    networks:
      - internal
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "rabbitmq-diagnostics", "ping"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 5

networks:
  public:
    driver: bridge
  internal:
    driver: bridge
    internal: true  # No external access

volumes:
  postgres-data:
  rabbitmq-data:

Pattern 3: Development Environment with Hot Reload

Scenario: Development setup with live code reloading and debugging

version: "3.8"

services:
  # Development Frontend
  frontend-dev:
    build:
      context: ./frontend
      dockerfile: Dockerfile.dev
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
      - "9222:9222"  # Chrome DevTools
    volumes:
      - ./frontend:/app
      - /app/node_modules
      - /app/.next  # Next.js build cache
    environment:
      - NODE_ENV=development
      - WATCHPACK_POLLING=true
      - NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=http://localhost:4000
    networks:
      - dev-network
    stdin_open: true
    tty: true
    command: npm run dev

  # Development Backend
  backend-dev:
    build:
      context: ./backend
      dockerfile: Dockerfile.dev
    ports:
      - "4000:4000"
      - "9229:9229"  # Node.js debugger
    volumes:
      - ./backend:/app
      - /app/node_modules
    environment:
      - NODE_ENV=development
      - DEBUG=app:*
      - DATABASE_URL=postgresql://postgres:dev@db:5432/dev_db
    networks:
      - dev-network
    depends_on:
      - db
      - mailhog
    command: npm run dev:debug

  # PostgreSQL with pgAdmin
  db:
    image: postgres:15-alpine
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=dev
      - POSTGRES_DB=dev_db
    ports:
      - "5432:5432"
    volumes:
      - dev-db-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    networks:
      - dev-network

  pgadmin:
    image: dpage/pgadmin4:latest
    environment:
      - PGADMIN_DEFAULT_EMAIL=admin@dev.local
      - PGADMIN_DEFAULT_PASSWORD=admin
    ports:
      - "5050:80"
    networks:
      - dev-network
    depends_on:
      - db

  # MailHog for Email Testing
  mailhog:
    image: mailhog/mailhog:latest
    ports:
      - "1025:1025"  # SMTP
      - "8025:8025"  # Web UI
    networks:
      - dev-network

networks:
  dev-network:
    driver: bridge

volumes:
  dev-db-data:

Networking Strategies

Default Bridge Network

services:
  web:
    image: nginx
    # Automatically connected to default network

  app:
    image: myapp
    # Can communicate with 'web' via service name

Custom Bridge Networks

version: "3.8"

services:
  frontend:
    image: react-app
    networks:
      - public

  backend:
    image: api-server
    networks:
      - public    # Accessible from frontend
      - private   # Accessible from database

  database:
    image: postgres
    networks:
      - private   # Isolated from frontend

networks:
  public:
    driver: bridge
  private:
    driver: bridge
    internal: true  # No internet access

Network Aliases

services:
  api:
    image: api-server
    networks:
      backend:
        aliases:
          - api-server
          - api.internal
          - api-v1.internal

networks:
  backend:
    driver: bridge

Host Network Mode

services:
  app:
    image: myapp
    network_mode: "host"  # Use host network stack
    # No port mapping needed, uses host ports directly

Custom Network Configuration

networks:
  custom-network:
    driver: bridge
    driver_opts:
      com.docker.network.bridge.name: br-custom
    ipam:
      driver: default
      config:
        - subnet: 172.28.0.0/16
          gateway: 172.28.0.1
    labels:
      - "com.example.description=Custom network"

Volume Management

Named Volumes

version: "3.8"

services:
  db:
    image: postgres:15
    volumes:
      - postgres-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data  # Named volume

  backup:
    image: postgres:15
    volumes:
      - postgres-data:/backup:ro  # Read-only mount
    command: pg_dump -U postgres > /backup/dump.sql

volumes:
  postgres-data:
    driver: local
    driver_opts:
      type: none
      o: bind
      device: /path/on/host

Bind Mounts

services:
  web:
    image: nginx
    volumes:
      # Relative path bind mount
      - ./html:/usr/share/nginx/html

      # Absolute path bind mount
      - /var/log/nginx:/var/log/nginx

      # Read-only bind mount
      - ./config/nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf:ro

tmpfs Mounts (In-Memory)

services:
  app:
    image: myapp
    tmpfs:
      - /tmp
      - /run
    # Or with options:
    volumes:
      - type: tmpfs
        target: /app/cache
        tmpfs:
          size: 1000000000  # 1GB

Volume Sharing Between Services

services:
  app:
    image: myapp
    volumes:
      - shared-data:/data

  worker:
    image: worker
    volumes:
      - shared-data:/data

  backup:
    image: backup-tool
    volumes:
      - shared-data:/backup:ro

volumes:
  shared-data:

Advanced Volume Configuration

volumes:
  data:
    driver: local
    driver_opts:
      type: "nfs"
      o: "addr=10.40.0.199,nolock,soft,rw"
      device: ":/docker/example"

  cache:
    driver: local
    driver_opts:
      type: tmpfs
      device: tmpfs
      o: "size=100m,uid=1000"

  external-volume:
    external: true  # Volume created outside Compose
    name: my-existing-volume

Health Checks

HTTP Health Check

services:
  web:
    image: nginx
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost/health"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 3
      start_period: 40s

Database Health Check

services:
  postgres:
    image: postgres:15
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U postgres"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5
      start_period: 30s

  mysql:
    image: mysql:8
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "mysqladmin", "ping", "-h", "localhost"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 3

  mongodb:
    image: mongo:6
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "mongosh", "--eval", "db.adminCommand('ping')"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5

Application Health Check

services:
  app:
    build: ./app
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "node", "healthcheck.js"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 3
      start_period: 60s

  api:
    build: ./api
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "wget --no-verbose --tries=1 --spider http://localhost:3000/health || exit 1"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 3

Complex Health Checks

services:
  redis:
    image: redis:alpine
    healthcheck:
      test: |
        sh -c '
        redis-cli ping | grep PONG &&
        redis-cli --raw incr ping | grep 1
        '
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 3s
      retries: 5

Development vs Production Configurations

Base Configuration (compose.yaml)

version: "3.8"

services:
  web:
    image: myapp:latest
    environment:
      - NODE_ENV=production
    networks:
      - app-network

  db:
    image: postgres:15-alpine
    networks:
      - app-network

networks:
  app-network:
    driver: bridge

Development Override (compose.override.yaml)

# Automatically merged with compose.yaml in development
version: "3.8"

services:
  web:
    build:
      context: .
      target: development
    volumes:
      - ./src:/app/src  # Live code reload
      - /app/node_modules
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"     # Expose for local access
      - "9229:9229"     # Debugger port
    environment:
      - NODE_ENV=development
      - DEBUG=*
    command: npm run dev

  db:
    ports:
      - "5432:5432"     # Expose for local tools
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=dev
    volumes:
      - ./init-dev.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/init.sql

Production Configuration (compose.prod.yaml)

version: "3.8"

services:
  web:
    image: myapp:${VERSION:-latest}
    restart: always
    environment:
      - NODE_ENV=production
    deploy:
      replicas: 3
      resources:
        limits:
          cpus: '2'
          memory: 2G
        reservations:
          cpus: '1'
          memory: 1G
      update_config:
        parallelism: 1
        delay: 10s
        failure_action: rollback
      rollback_config:
        parallelism: 1
        delay: 5s
    logging:
      driver: json-file
      options:
        max-size: "10m"
        max-file: "5"

  db:
    image: postgres:15-alpine
    restart: always
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD_FILE=/run/secrets/db_password
    secrets:
      - db_password
    volumes:
      - postgres-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    deploy:
      resources:
        limits:
          cpus: '2'
          memory: 4G

  # Production additions
  nginx:
    image: nginx:alpine
    ports:
      - "80:80"
      - "443:443"
    volumes:
      - ./nginx/prod.conf:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf:ro
      - ssl-certs:/etc/nginx/ssl:ro
    restart: always
    depends_on:
      - web

secrets:
  db_password:
    external: true

volumes:
  postgres-data:
    driver: local
  ssl-certs:
    external: true

Staging Configuration (compose.staging.yaml)

version: "3.8"

services:
  web:
    image: myapp:staging-${VERSION:-latest}
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - NODE_ENV=staging
    deploy:
      replicas: 2
      resources:
        limits:
          cpus: '1'
          memory: 1G

  db:
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=${DB_PASSWORD}
    volumes:
      - staging-db-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data

volumes:
  staging-db-data:

Essential Docker Compose Commands

Project Management

# Start services
docker compose up                    # Foreground
docker compose up -d                 # Detached (background)
docker compose up --build            # Rebuild images
docker compose up --force-recreate   # Recreate containers
docker compose up --scale web=3      # Scale service to 3 instances

# Stop services
docker compose stop                  # Stop containers
docker compose down                  # Stop and remove containers/networks
docker compose down -v               # Also remove volumes
docker compose down --rmi all        # Also remove images

# Restart services
docker compose restart               # Restart all services
docker compose restart web           # Restart specific service

Service Management

# Build services
docker compose build                 # Build all services
docker compose build web             # Build specific service
docker compose build --no-cache      # Build without cache
docker compose build --pull          # Pull latest base images

# View services
docker compose ps                    # List containers
docker compose ps -a                 # Include stopped containers
docker compose top                   # Display running processes
docker compose images                # List images

# Logs
docker compose logs                  # View all logs
docker compose logs -f               # Follow logs
docker compose logs web              # Service-specific logs
docker compose logs --tail=100 web   # Last 100 lines

Execution and Debugging

# Execute commands
docker compose exec web sh           # Interactive shell
docker compose exec web npm test     # Run command
docker compose exec -u root web sh   # Run as root

# Run one-off commands
docker compose run web npm install   # Run command in new container
docker compose run --rm web test     # Remove container after
docker compose run --no-deps web sh  # Don't start dependencies

Configuration Management

# Multiple compose files
docker compose -f compose.yaml -f compose.prod.yaml up

# Environment-specific deployment
docker compose --env-file .env.prod up
docker compose -p myproject up       # Custom project name

# Configuration validation
docker compose config                # Validate and view config
docker compose config --quiet        # Only validation
docker compose config --services     # List services
docker compose config --volumes      # List volumes

15+ Compose Examples

Example 1: NGINX + PHP + MySQL (LAMP Stack)

version: "3.8"

services:
  nginx:
    image: nginx:alpine
    ports:
      - "80:80"
    volumes:
      - ./public:/var/www/html
      - ./nginx/nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf:ro
    networks:
      - lamp
    depends_on:
      - php

  php:
    build:
      context: ./php
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
    volumes:
      - ./public:/var/www/html
    networks:
      - lamp
    depends_on:
      - mysql

  mysql:
    image: mysql:8.0
    environment:
      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: secret
      MYSQL_DATABASE: myapp
      MYSQL_USER: user
      MYSQL_PASSWORD: password
    volumes:
      - mysql-data:/var/lib/mysql
    networks:
      - lamp

networks:
  lamp:

volumes:
  mysql-data:

Example 2: Django + PostgreSQL + Redis + Celery

version: "3.8"

services:
  web:
    build: .
    command: python manage.py runserver 0.0.0.0:8000
    volumes:
      - .:/code
    ports:
      - "8000:8000"
    environment:
      - DATABASE_URL=postgresql://postgres:postgres@db:5432/django_db
      - REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379/0
    depends_on:
      - db
      - redis

  db:
    image: postgres:15-alpine
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: django_db
      POSTGRES_USER: postgres
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: postgres
    volumes:
      - postgres-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data

  redis:
    image: redis:alpine
    volumes:
      - redis-data:/data

  celery:
    build: .
    command: celery -A myproject worker -l info
    volumes:
      - .:/code
    environment:
      - DATABASE_URL=postgresql://postgres:postgres@db:5432/django_db
      - REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379/0
    depends_on:
      - db
      - redis

  celery-beat:
    build: .
    command: celery -A myproject beat -l info
    volumes:
      - .:/code
    environment:
      - DATABASE_URL=postgresql://postgres:postgres@db:5432/django_db
      - REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379/0
    depends_on:
      - db
      - redis

volumes:
  postgres-data:
  redis-data:

Example 3: React + Node.js + MongoDB + NGINX

version: "3.8"

services:
  frontend:
    build:
      context: ./frontend
      args:
        REACT_APP_API_URL: http://localhost/api
    volumes:
      - ./frontend:/app
      - /app/node_modules
    environment:
      - CHOKIDAR_USEPOLLING=true
    networks:
      - app-network

  backend:
    build: ./backend
    ports:
      - "5000:5000"
    volumes:
      - ./backend:/app
      - /app/node_modules
    environment:
      - MONGODB_URI=mongodb://mongo:27017/myapp
      - JWT_SECRET=dev-secret
    depends_on:
      - mongo
    networks:
      - app-network

  mongo:
    image: mongo:6
    ports:
      - "27017:27017"
    volumes:
      - mongo-data:/data/db
      - mongo-config:/data/configdb
    environment:
      - MONGO_INITDB_ROOT_USERNAME=admin
      - MONGO_INITDB_ROOT_PASSWORD=secret
    networks:
      - app-network

  nginx:
    image: nginx:alpine
    ports:
      - "80:80"
    volumes:
      - ./nginx/nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf:ro
    depends_on:
      - frontend
      - backend
    networks:
      - app-network

networks:
  app-network:
    driver: bridge

volumes:
  mongo-data:
  mongo-config:

Example 4: Spring Boot + MySQL + Adminer

version: "3.8"

services:
  app:
    build:
      context: .
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    environment:
      - SPRING_DATASOURCE_URL=jdbc:mysql://db:3306/springdb?useSSL=false
      - SPRING_DATASOURCE_USERNAME=root
      - SPRING_DATASOURCE_PASSWORD=secret
      - SPRING_JPA_HIBERNATE_DDL_AUTO=update
    depends_on:
      db:
        condition: service_healthy
    networks:
      - spring-network

  db:
    image: mysql:8.0
    environment:
      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: secret
      MYSQL_DATABASE: springdb
    volumes:
      - mysql-data:/var/lib/mysql
    networks:
      - spring-network
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "mysqladmin", "ping", "-h", "localhost"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5

  adminer:
    image: adminer:latest
    ports:
      - "8081:8080"
    environment:
      ADMINER_DEFAULT_SERVER: db
    networks:
      - spring-network

networks:
  spring-network:

volumes:
  mysql-data:

Example 5: WordPress + MySQL + phpMyAdmin

version: "3.8"

services:
  wordpress:
    image: wordpress:latest
    ports:
      - "8000:80"
    environment:
      WORDPRESS_DB_HOST: db:3306
      WORDPRESS_DB_USER: wordpress
      WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD: wordpress
      WORDPRESS_DB_NAME: wordpress
    volumes:
      - wordpress-data:/var/www/html
    depends_on:
      - db
    networks:
      - wordpress-network

  db:
    image: mysql:8.0
    environment:
      MYSQL_DATABASE: wordpress
      MYSQL_USER: wordpress
      MYSQL_PASSWORD: wordpress
      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: rootpassword
    volumes:
      - db-data:/var/lib/mysql
    networks:
      - wordpress-network

  phpmyadmin:
    image: phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin:latest
    ports:
      - "8080:80"
    environment:
      PMA_HOST: db
      PMA_USER: root
      PMA_PASSWORD: rootpassword
    depends_on:
      - db
    networks:
      - wordpress-network

networks:
  wordpress-network:

volumes:
  wordpress-data:
  db-data:

Example 6: Elasticsearch + Kibana + Logstash (ELK Stack)

version: "3.8"

services:
  elasticsearch:
    image: docker.elastic.co/elasticsearch/elasticsearch:8.10.0
    container_name: elasticsearch
    environment:
      - discovery.type=single-node
      - "ES_JAVA_OPTS=-Xms512m -Xmx512m"
      - xpack.security.enabled=false
    ports:
      - "9200:9200"
      - "9300:9300"
    volumes:
      - elasticsearch-data:/usr/share/elasticsearch/data
    networks:
      - elk

  logstash:
    image: docker.elastic.co/logstash/logstash:8.10.0
    container_name: logstash
    volumes:
      - ./logstash/pipeline:/usr/share/logstash/pipeline:ro
      - ./logstash/config/logstash.yml:/usr/share/logstash/config/logstash.yml:ro
    ports:
      - "5000:5000"
      - "9600:9600"
    environment:
      LS_JAVA_OPTS: "-Xmx256m -Xms256m"
    networks:
      - elk
    depends_on:
      - elasticsearch

  kibana:
    image: docker.elastic.co/kibana/kibana:8.10.0
    container_name: kibana
    ports:
      - "5601:5601"
    environment:
      ELASTICSEARCH_URL: http://elasticsearch:9200
      ELASTICSEARCH_HOSTS: http://elasticsearch:9200
    networks:
      - elk
    depends_on:
      - elasticsearch

networks:
  elk:
    driver: bridge

volumes:
  elasticsearch-data:

Example 7: GitLab + GitLab Runner

version: "3.8"

services:
  gitlab:
    image: gitlab/gitlab-ce:latest
    container_name: gitlab
    restart: unless-stopped
    hostname: gitlab.local
    environment:
      GITLAB_OMNIBUS_CONFIG: |
        external_url 'http://gitlab.local'
        gitlab_rails['gitlab_shell_ssh_port'] = 2222
    ports:
      - "80:80"
      - "443:443"
      - "2222:22"
    volumes:
      - gitlab-config:/etc/gitlab
      - gitlab-logs:/var/log/gitlab
      - gitlab-data:/var/opt/gitlab
    networks:
      - gitlab-network

  gitlab-runner:
    image: gitlab/gitlab-runner:latest
    container_name: gitlab-runner
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - gitlab-runner-config:/etc/gitlab-runner
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
    networks:
      - gitlab-network
    depends_on:
      - gitlab

networks:
  gitlab-network:

volumes:
  gitlab-config:
  gitlab-logs:
  gitlab-data:
  gitlab-runner-config:

Example 8: Jenkins + Docker-in-Docker

version: "3.8"

services:
  jenkins:
    image: jenkins/jenkins:lts
    container_name: jenkins
    user: root
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
      - "50000:50000"
    volumes:
      - jenkins-data:/var/jenkins_home
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
      - /usr/bin/docker:/usr/bin/docker
    environment:
      - JAVA_OPTS=-Djenkins.install.runSetupWizard=false
    networks:
      - jenkins-network

  jenkins-agent:
    image: jenkins/inbound-agent:latest
    container_name: jenkins-agent
    environment:
      - JENKINS_URL=http://jenkins:8080
      - JENKINS_AGENT_NAME=agent1
      - JENKINS_SECRET=${AGENT_SECRET}
      - JENKINS_AGENT_WORKDIR=/home/jenkins/agent
    volumes:
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
    networks:
      - jenkins-network
    depends_on:
      - jenkins

networks:
  jenkins-network:

volumes:
  jenkins-data:

Example 9: Prometheus + Grafana + Node Exporter

version: "3.8"

services:
  prometheus:
    image: prom/prometheus:latest
    container_name: prometheus
    ports:
      - "9090:9090"
    volumes:
      - ./prometheus/prometheus.yml:/etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml:ro
      - prometheus-data:/prometheus
    command:
      - '--config.file=/etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml'
      - '--storage.tsdb.path=/prometheus'
    networks:
      - monitoring

  grafana:
    image: grafana/grafana:latest
    container_name: grafana
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    environment:
      - GF_SECURITY_ADMIN_USER=admin
      - GF_SECURITY_ADMIN_PASSWORD=admin
      - GF_INSTALL_PLUGINS=grafana-piechart-panel
    volumes:
      - grafana-data:/var/lib/grafana
      - ./grafana/provisioning:/etc/grafana/provisioning:ro
    networks:
      - monitoring
    depends_on:
      - prometheus

  node-exporter:
    image: prom/node-exporter:latest
    container_name: node-exporter
    ports:
      - "9100:9100"
    volumes:
      - /proc:/host/proc:ro
      - /sys:/host/sys:ro
      - /:/rootfs:ro
    command:
      - '--path.procfs=/host/proc'
      - '--path.sysfs=/host/sys'
      - '--collector.filesystem.mount-points-exclude=^/(sys|proc|dev|host|etc)($$|/)'
    networks:
      - monitoring

networks:
  monitoring:

volumes:
  prometheus-data:
  grafana-data:

Example 10: RabbitMQ + Multiple Consumers

version: "3.8"

services:
  rabbitmq:
    image: rabbitmq:3-management-alpine
    container_name: rabbitmq
    ports:
      - "5672:5672"   # AMQP
      - "15672:15672" # Management UI
    environment:
      RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_USER: admin
      RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_PASS: secret
    volumes:
      - rabbitmq-data:/var/lib/rabbitmq
      - ./rabbitmq/rabbitmq.conf:/etc/rabbitmq/rabbitmq.conf:ro
    networks:
      - messaging
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "rabbitmq-diagnostics", "ping"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 5

  producer:
    build: ./services/producer
    environment:
      RABBITMQ_URL: amqp://admin:secret@rabbitmq:5672
    depends_on:
      rabbitmq:
        condition: service_healthy
    networks:
      - messaging

  consumer-1:
    build: ./services/consumer
    environment:
      RABBITMQ_URL: amqp://admin:secret@rabbitmq:5672
      WORKER_ID: 1
    depends_on:
      rabbitmq:
        condition: service_healthy
    networks:
      - messaging
    deploy:
      replicas: 3

  consumer-2:
    build: ./services/consumer
    environment:
      RABBITMQ_URL: amqp://admin:secret@rabbitmq:5672
      WORKER_ID: 2
    depends_on:
      rabbitmq:
        condition: service_healthy
    networks:
      - messaging

networks:
  messaging:

volumes:
  rabbitmq-data:

Example 11: Traefik Reverse Proxy

version: "3.8"

services:
  traefik:
    image: traefik:v2.10
    container_name: traefik
    command:
      - --api.insecure=true
      - --providers.docker=true
      - --providers.docker.exposedbydefault=false
      - --entrypoints.web.address=:80
      - --entrypoints.websecure.address=:443
    ports:
      - "80:80"
      - "443:443"
      - "8080:8080"  # Traefik dashboard
    volumes:
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro
      - ./traefik/traefik.yml:/etc/traefik/traefik.yml:ro
      - ./traefik/dynamic:/etc/traefik/dynamic:ro
    networks:
      - traefik-network

  whoami:
    image: traefik/whoami
    labels:
      - "traefik.enable=true"
      - "traefik.http.routers.whoami.rule=Host(`whoami.local`)"
      - "traefik.http.routers.whoami.entrypoints=web"
    networks:
      - traefik-network

  app:
    image: nginx:alpine
    labels:
      - "traefik.enable=true"
      - "traefik.http.routers.app.rule=Host(`app.local`)"
      - "traefik.http.routers.app.entrypoints=web"
      - "traefik.http.services.app.loadbalancer.server.port=80"
    networks:
      - traefik-network

networks:
  traefik-network:
    driver: bridge

Example 12: MinIO + PostgreSQL Backup

version: "3.8"

services:
  minio:
    image: minio/minio:latest
    container_name: minio
    command: server /data --console-address ":9001"
    ports:
      - "9000:9000"
      - "9001:9001"
    environment:
      MINIO_ROOT_USER: minioadmin
      MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD: minioadmin
    volumes:
      - minio-data:/data
    networks:
      - storage
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:9000/minio/health/live"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 20s
      retries: 3

  postgres:
    image: postgres:15-alpine
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: myapp
      POSTGRES_USER: postgres
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: secret
    volumes:
      - postgres-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    networks:
      - storage

  backup:
    image: postgres:15-alpine
    environment:
      POSTGRES_HOST: postgres
      POSTGRES_DB: myapp
      POSTGRES_USER: postgres
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: secret
      MINIO_ENDPOINT: minio:9000
      MINIO_ACCESS_KEY: minioadmin
      MINIO_SECRET_KEY: minioadmin
    volumes:
      - ./scripts/backup.sh:/backup.sh:ro
    entrypoint: ["/bin/sh", "/backup.sh"]
    depends_on:
      - postgres
      - minio
    networks:
      - storage

networks:
  storage:

volumes:
  minio-data:
  postgres-data:

Example 13: Apache Kafka + Zookeeper

version: "3.8"

services:
  zookeeper:
    image: confluentinc/cp-zookeeper:latest
    container_name: zookeeper
    environment:
      ZOOKEEPER_CLIENT_PORT: 2181
      ZOOKEEPER_TICK_TIME: 2000
    ports:
      - "2181:2181"
    volumes:
      - zookeeper-data:/var/lib/zookeeper/data
      - zookeeper-logs:/var/lib/zookeeper/log
    networks:
      - kafka-network

  kafka:
    image: confluentinc/cp-kafka:latest
    container_name: kafka
    depends_on:
      - zookeeper
    ports:
      - "9092:9092"
      - "29092:29092"
    environment:
      KAFKA_BROKER_ID: 1
      KAFKA_ZOOKEEPER_CONNECT: zookeeper:2181
      KAFKA_ADVERTISED_LISTENERS: PLAINTEXT://kafka:9092,PLAINTEXT_HOST://localhost:29092
      KAFKA_LISTENER_SECURITY_PROTOCOL_MAP: PLAINTEXT:PLAINTEXT,PLAINTEXT_HOST:PLAINTEXT
      KAFKA_INTER_BROKER_LISTENER_NAME: PLAINTEXT
      KAFKA_OFFSETS_TOPIC_REPLICATION_FACTOR: 1
    volumes:
      - kafka-data:/var/lib/kafka/data
    networks:
      - kafka-network

  kafka-ui:
    image: provectuslabs/kafka-ui:latest
    container_name: kafka-ui
    depends_on:
      - kafka
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    environment:
      KAFKA_CLUSTERS_0_NAME: local
      KAFKA_CLUSTERS_0_BOOTSTRAPSERVERS: kafka:9092
      KAFKA_CLUSTERS_0_ZOOKEEPER: zookeeper:2181
    networks:
      - kafka-network

networks:
  kafka-network:

volumes:
  zookeeper-data:
  zookeeper-logs:
  kafka-data:

Example 14: Keycloak + PostgreSQL (Identity & Access Management)

version: "3.8"

services:
  postgres:
    image: postgres:15-alpine
    container_name: keycloak-db
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: keycloak
      POSTGRES_USER: keycloak
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: password
    volumes:
      - postgres-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    networks:
      - keycloak-network

  keycloak:
    image: quay.io/keycloak/keycloak:latest
    container_name: keycloak
    environment:
      KC_DB: postgres
      KC_DB_URL: jdbc:postgresql://postgres:5432/keycloak
      KC_DB_USERNAME: keycloak
      KC_DB_PASSWORD: password
      KEYCLOAK_ADMIN: admin
      KEYCLOAK_ADMIN_PASSWORD: admin
    command: start-dev
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    depends_on:
      - postgres
    networks:
      - keycloak-network

networks:
  keycloak-network:

volumes:
  postgres-data:

Example 15: Portainer (Docker Management UI)

version: "3.8"

services:
  portainer:
    image: portainer/portainer-ce:latest
    container_name: portainer
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "9000:9000"
      - "8000:8000"
    volumes:
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
      - portainer-data:/data
    networks:
      - portainer-network

networks:
  portainer-network:

volumes:
  portainer-data:

Example 16: SonarQube + PostgreSQL (Code Quality)

version: "3.8"

services:
  sonarqube:
    image: sonarqube:community
    container_name: sonarqube
    depends_on:
      - db
    environment:
      SONAR_JDBC_URL: jdbc:postgresql://db:5432/sonar
      SONAR_JDBC_USERNAME: sonar
      SONAR_JDBC_PASSWORD: sonar
    volumes:
      - sonarqube-conf:/opt/sonarqube/conf
      - sonarqube-data:/opt/sonarqube/data
      - sonarqube-logs:/opt/sonarqube/logs
      - sonarqube-extensions:/opt/sonarqube/extensions
    ports:
      - "9000:9000"
    networks:
      - sonarqube-network

  db:
    image: postgres:15-alpine
    container_name: sonarqube-db
    environment:
      POSTGRES_USER: sonar
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: sonar
      POSTGRES_DB: sonar
    volumes:
      - postgresql-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    networks:
      - sonarqube-network

networks:
  sonarqube-network:

volumes:
  sonarqube-conf:
  sonarqube-data:
  sonarqube-logs:
  sonarqube-extensions:
  postgresql-data:

Best Practices

Service Configuration

1. Use Specific Image Tags: Avoid latest in production 2. Health Checks: Always define health checks for critical services 3. Resource Limits: Set CPU and memory limits in production 4. Restart Policies: Use appropriate restart policies 5. Environment Variables: Use .env files for sensitive data 6. Named Volumes: Use named volumes for data persistence 7. Network Isolation: Separate frontend/backend networks 8. Logging Configuration: Set up proper log rotation

Development Workflow

1. Hot Reload: Mount source code as volumes for live updates 2. Debug Ports: Expose debugger ports in development 3. Override Files: Use compose.override.yaml for local config 4. Build Caching: Structure Dockerfiles for efficient caching 5. Separate Concerns: One process per container 6. Service Naming: Use descriptive, consistent service names

Security

1. Secrets Management: Use Docker secrets or external secret managers 2. Non-Root Users: Run containers as non-root users 3. Read-Only Filesystems: Mount volumes as read-only when possible 4. Network Segmentation: Use multiple networks for isolation 5. Environment Isolation: Never commit sensitive .env files 6. Image Scanning: Scan images for vulnerabilities 7. Minimal Base Images: Use Alpine or distroless images

Production Deployment

1. Image Versioning: Tag images with semantic versions 2. Rolling Updates: Configure gradual rollout strategies 3. Monitoring: Integrate with monitoring solutions 4. Backup Strategy: Implement automated backups 5. High Availability: Deploy replicas of critical services 6. Load Balancing: Use reverse proxies for load distribution 7. Configuration Management: Externalize configuration 8. Disaster Recovery: Test backup and restore procedures

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Services can't communicate

• Check network configuration
• Verify service names are correct
• Ensure services are on same network
• Check firewall rules

Volumes not persisting

• Verify named volumes are defined
• Check volume mount paths
• Ensure proper permissions
• Review Docker volume driver

Services failing health checks

• Increase start_period
• Verify health check command
• Check service logs
• Ensure dependencies are ready

Port conflicts

• Check for existing services on ports
• Use different host ports
• Review port mapping syntax

Build failures

• Clear build cache: docker compose build --no-cache
• Check Dockerfile syntax
• Verify build context
• Review build arguments

Debugging Commands

# View detailed container information
docker compose ps -a
docker compose logs -f service-name
docker inspect container-name

# Execute commands in running containers
docker compose exec service-name sh
docker compose exec service-name env

# Check network connectivity
docker compose exec service-name ping other-service
docker compose exec service-name netstat -tulpn

# Review configuration
docker compose config
docker compose config --services
docker compose config --volumes

# Clean up resources
docker compose down -v
docker system prune -a --volumes

Advanced Usage

Multi-Stage Builds for Optimization

services:
  app:
    build:
      context: .
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
      target: production
    # Dockerfile uses multi-stage builds

# Development stage
FROM node:18-alpine AS development
WORKDIR /app
COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm install
COPY . .
CMD ["npm", "run", "dev"]

# Build stage
FROM node:18-alpine AS builder
WORKDIR /app
COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm ci --only=production
COPY . .
RUN npm run build

# Production stage
FROM node:18-alpine AS production
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=builder /app/dist ./dist
COPY --from=builder /app/node_modules ./node_modules
COPY package*.json ./
EXPOSE 3000
CMD ["node", "dist/index.js"]

Environment-Specific Deployments

# Development
docker compose up

# Staging
docker compose -f compose.yaml -f compose.staging.yaml up

# Production
docker compose -f compose.yaml -f compose.prod.yaml up -d

# With environment file
docker compose --env-file .env.prod -f compose.yaml -f compose.prod.yaml up -d

Scaling Services

# Scale specific service
docker compose up -d --scale worker=5

# Scale multiple services
docker compose up -d --scale worker=5 --scale consumer=3

Conditional Service Activation with Profiles

services:
  web:
    image: nginx
    # Always starts

  debug:
    image: debug-tools
    profiles:
      - debug  # Only starts with --profile debug

  test:
    build: .
    profiles:
      - test   # Only starts with --profile test

# Start with debug profile
docker compose --profile debug up

# Start with multiple profiles
docker compose --profile debug --profile test up

Quick Reference

Essential Commands

# Start and manage
docker compose up -d                    # Start detached
docker compose down                     # Stop and remove
docker compose restart                  # Restart all
docker compose stop                     # Stop without removing

# Build and pull
docker compose build                    # Build all images
docker compose pull                     # Pull all images
docker compose build --no-cache        # Clean build

# View and monitor
docker compose ps                       # List containers
docker compose logs -f                  # Follow logs
docker compose top                      # Running processes
docker compose events                   # Real-time events

# Execute and debug
docker compose exec service sh          # Interactive shell
docker compose run --rm service cmd     # One-off command

File Structure

project/
├── compose.yaml              # Base configuration
├── compose.override.yaml     # Local overrides (auto-loaded)
├── compose.prod.yaml         # Production config
├── compose.staging.yaml      # Staging config
├── .env                      # Default environment
├── .env.prod                 # Production environment
├── services/
│   ├── frontend/
│   │   ├── Dockerfile
│   │   └── src/
│   ├── backend/
│   │   ├── Dockerfile
│   │   └── src/
│   └── worker/
│       ├── Dockerfile
│       └── src/
└── docker/
    ├── nginx/
    │   └── nginx.conf
    └── scripts/
        └── init.sql

Resources

• Docker Compose Documentation: https://docs.docker.com/compose/
• Compose File Specification: https://docs.docker.com/compose/compose-file/
• Docker Hub: https://hub.docker.com/
• Awesome Compose Examples: https://github.com/docker/awesome-compose
• Docker Compose GitHub: https://github.com/docker/compose
• Best Practices Guide: https://docs.docker.com/develop/dev-best-practices/

---

Skill Version: 1.0.0 Last Updated: October 2025 Skill Category: DevOps, Container Orchestration, Application Deployment Compatible With: Docker Compose v3.8+, Docker Engine 20.10+

Docker Compose Examples

A comprehensive collection of real-world Docker Compose examples covering various service patterns, application architectures, and deployment scenarios.

Table of Contents

1. Web Application Stacks 2. Database Services 3. Caching and Message Queues 4. Monitoring and Logging 5. CI/CD and Development Tools 6. Content Management Systems 7. Data Processing and Analytics 8. Security and Authentication 9. Networking Examples 10. Advanced Patterns

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Web Application Stacks

MERN Stack (MongoDB, Express, React, Node.js)

version: "3.8"

services:
  # React Frontend
  frontend:
    build:
      context: ./frontend
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    volumes:
      - ./frontend/src:/app/src
      - /app/node_modules
    environment:
      - REACT_APP_API_URL=http://localhost:5000/api
      - CHOKIDAR_USEPOLLING=true
    networks:
      - mern-network
    depends_on:
      - backend

  # Express Backend
  backend:
    build:
      context: ./backend
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
    ports:
      - "5000:5000"
    volumes:
      - ./backend:/app
      - /app/node_modules
    environment:
      - NODE_ENV=development
      - MONGODB_URI=mongodb://mongo:27017/mernapp
      - JWT_SECRET=dev-secret-key
      - PORT=5000
    networks:
      - mern-network
    depends_on:
      mongo:
        condition: service_healthy

  # MongoDB Database
  mongo:
    image: mongo:6
    container_name: mongodb
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "27017:27017"
    environment:
      - MONGO_INITDB_ROOT_USERNAME=admin
      - MONGO_INITDB_ROOT_PASSWORD=secret
      - MONGO_INITDB_DATABASE=mernapp
    volumes:
      - mongo-data:/data/db
      - mongo-config:/data/configdb
      - ./mongo-init.js:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/mongo-init.js:ro
    networks:
      - mern-network
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "mongosh", "--eval", "db.adminCommand('ping')"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5

  # Mongo Express (Database UI)
  mongo-express:
    image: mongo-express:latest
    container_name: mongo-express
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8081:8081"
    environment:
      - ME_CONFIG_MONGODB_ADMINUSERNAME=admin
      - ME_CONFIG_MONGODB_ADMINPASSWORD=secret
      - ME_CONFIG_MONGODB_URL=mongodb://admin:secret@mongo:27017/
      - ME_CONFIG_BASICAUTH_USERNAME=admin
      - ME_CONFIG_BASICAUTH_PASSWORD=admin
    networks:
      - mern-network
    depends_on:
      - mongo

networks:
  mern-network:
    driver: bridge

volumes:
  mongo-data:
    driver: local
  mongo-config:
    driver: local

LAMP Stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP)

version: "3.8"

services:
  # Apache + PHP
  web:
    build:
      context: ./docker/php
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
    container_name: lamp-web
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "80:80"
      - "443:443"
    volumes:
      - ./public:/var/www/html
      - ./docker/php/php.ini:/usr/local/etc/php/php.ini:ro
      - ./docker/apache/apache2.conf:/etc/apache2/apache2.conf:ro
      - ./docker/apache/sites-available:/etc/apache2/sites-available:ro
      - ssl-certs:/etc/apache2/ssl
    environment:
      - APACHE_DOCUMENT_ROOT=/var/www/html/public
      - PHP_MEMORY_LIMIT=256M
      - PHP_UPLOAD_MAX_FILESIZE=64M
    networks:
      - lamp-network
    depends_on:
      mysql:
        condition: service_healthy

  # MySQL Database
  mysql:
    image: mysql:8.0
    container_name: lamp-mysql
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "3306:3306"
    environment:
      - MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=root_secret
      - MYSQL_DATABASE=lampdb
      - MYSQL_USER=lampuser
      - MYSQL_PASSWORD=lamppass
    volumes:
      - mysql-data:/var/lib/mysql
      - ./docker/mysql/my.cnf:/etc/mysql/conf.d/my.cnf:ro
      - ./docker/mysql/init:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d
    networks:
      - lamp-network
    command: --default-authentication-plugin=mysql_native_password
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "mysqladmin", "ping", "-h", "localhost", "-u", "root", "-proot_secret"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5

  # phpMyAdmin
  phpmyadmin:
    image: phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin:latest
    container_name: lamp-phpmyadmin
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8080:80"
    environment:
      - PMA_HOST=mysql
      - PMA_PORT=3306
      - PMA_USER=root
      - PMA_PASSWORD=root_secret
      - UPLOAD_LIMIT=64M
    networks:
      - lamp-network
    depends_on:
      - mysql

  # Mailhog (Email Testing)
  mailhog:
    image: mailhog/mailhog:latest
    container_name: lamp-mailhog
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "1025:1025"
      - "8025:8025"
    networks:
      - lamp-network

networks:
  lamp-network:
    driver: bridge

volumes:
  mysql-data:
    driver: local
  ssl-certs:
    driver: local

Next.js + PostgreSQL + Redis

version: "3.8"

services:
  # Next.js Application
  nextjs:
    build:
      context: ./nextjs-app
      dockerfile: Dockerfile.dev
      target: development
    container_name: nextjs-app
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    volumes:
      - ./nextjs-app:/app
      - /app/node_modules
      - /app/.next
    environment:
      - NODE_ENV=development
      - DATABASE_URL=postgresql://postgres:postgres@postgres:5432/nextjs_db
      - REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379
      - NEXTAUTH_URL=http://localhost:3000
      - NEXTAUTH_SECRET=dev-secret
    networks:
      - nextjs-network
    depends_on:
      postgres:
        condition: service_healthy
      redis:
        condition: service_started
    command: npm run dev

  # PostgreSQL Database
  postgres:
    image: postgres:15-alpine
    container_name: nextjs-postgres
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "5432:5432"
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_USER=postgres
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=postgres
      - POSTGRES_DB=nextjs_db
    volumes:
      - postgres-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
      - ./database/init.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/init.sql:ro
    networks:
      - nextjs-network
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U postgres"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5

  # Redis Cache
  redis:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    container_name: nextjs-redis
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "6379:6379"
    volumes:
      - redis-data:/data
    networks:
      - nextjs-network
    command: redis-server --appendonly yes --requirepass redis_password
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "redis-cli", "--raw", "incr", "ping"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 3s
      retries: 5

  # pgAdmin (Database UI)
  pgadmin:
    image: dpage/pgadmin4:latest
    container_name: nextjs-pgadmin
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "5050:80"
    environment:
      - PGADMIN_DEFAULT_EMAIL=admin@admin.com
      - PGADMIN_DEFAULT_PASSWORD=admin
      - PGADMIN_CONFIG_SERVER_MODE=False
    volumes:
      - pgadmin-data:/var/lib/pgadmin
    networks:
      - nextjs-network
    depends_on:
      - postgres

  # Redis Commander (Redis UI)
  redis-commander:
    image: rediscommander/redis-commander:latest
    container_name: nextjs-redis-commander
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8082:8081"
    environment:
      - REDIS_HOSTS=local:redis:6379:0:redis_password
    networks:
      - nextjs-network
    depends_on:
      - redis

networks:
  nextjs-network:
    driver: bridge

volumes:
  postgres-data:
  redis-data:
  pgadmin-data:

Django + PostgreSQL + Celery + Redis

version: "3.8"

services:
  # Django Web Application
  web:
    build:
      context: .
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
    container_name: django-web
    command: python manage.py runserver 0.0.0.0:8000
    volumes:
      - .:/code
      - static-volume:/code/staticfiles
      - media-volume:/code/media
    ports:
      - "8000:8000"
    environment:
      - DEBUG=True
      - SECRET_KEY=django-insecure-dev-key
      - DATABASE_URL=postgresql://django:django@postgres:5432/django_db
      - CELERY_BROKER_URL=redis://redis:6379/0
      - CELERY_RESULT_BACKEND=redis://redis:6379/0
    networks:
      - django-network
    depends_on:
      postgres:
        condition: service_healthy
      redis:
        condition: service_healthy

  # PostgreSQL Database
  postgres:
    image: postgres:15-alpine
    container_name: django-postgres
    volumes:
      - postgres-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_DB=django_db
      - POSTGRES_USER=django
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=django
    networks:
      - django-network
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U django"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5

  # Redis (Cache & Celery Broker)
  redis:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    container_name: django-redis
    volumes:
      - redis-data:/data
    networks:
      - django-network
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "redis-cli", "ping"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 3s
      retries: 5

  # Celery Worker
  celery-worker:
    build:
      context: .
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
    container_name: django-celery-worker
    command: celery -A myproject worker -l info
    volumes:
      - .:/code
    environment:
      - DATABASE_URL=postgresql://django:django@postgres:5432/django_db
      - CELERY_BROKER_URL=redis://redis:6379/0
      - CELERY_RESULT_BACKEND=redis://redis:6379/0
    networks:
      - django-network
    depends_on:
      - postgres
      - redis
    deploy:
      replicas: 2

  # Celery Beat (Scheduler)
  celery-beat:
    build:
      context: .
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
    container_name: django-celery-beat
    command: celery -A myproject beat -l info --scheduler django_celery_beat.schedulers:DatabaseScheduler
    volumes:
      - .:/code
    environment:
      - DATABASE_URL=postgresql://django:django@postgres:5432/django_db
      - CELERY_BROKER_URL=redis://redis:6379/0
      - CELERY_RESULT_BACKEND=redis://redis:6379/0
    networks:
      - django-network
    depends_on:
      - postgres
      - redis

  # Flower (Celery Monitoring)
  flower:
    build:
      context: .
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
    container_name: django-flower
    command: celery -A myproject flower
    volumes:
      - .:/code
    ports:
      - "5555:5555"
    environment:
      - CELERY_BROKER_URL=redis://redis:6379/0
      - CELERY_RESULT_BACKEND=redis://redis:6379/0
    networks:
      - django-network
    depends_on:
      - redis
      - celery-worker

  # NGINX (Production)
  nginx:
    image: nginx:alpine
    container_name: django-nginx
    ports:
      - "80:80"
    volumes:
      - ./nginx/nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf:ro
      - static-volume:/staticfiles:ro
      - media-volume:/media:ro
    networks:
      - django-network
    depends_on:
      - web

networks:
  django-network:
    driver: bridge

volumes:
  postgres-data:
  redis-data:
  static-volume:
  media-volume:

---

Database Services

PostgreSQL with Replication

version: "3.8"

services:
  # Primary PostgreSQL
  postgres-primary:
    image: postgres:15-alpine
    container_name: postgres-primary
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_USER=replicator
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=replicator_password
      - POSTGRES_DB=myapp
      - POSTGRES_HOST_AUTH_METHOD=md5
      - POSTGRES_INITDB_ARGS=--encoding=UTF-8 --lc-collate=C --lc-ctype=C
    volumes:
      - postgres-primary-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
      - ./postgres/primary/postgresql.conf:/etc/postgresql/postgresql.conf
      - ./postgres/primary/pg_hba.conf:/etc/postgresql/pg_hba.conf
      - ./postgres/setup-primary.sh:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/setup-primary.sh
    networks:
      - db-network
    ports:
      - "5432:5432"
    command: postgres -c config_file=/etc/postgresql/postgresql.conf

  # Standby PostgreSQL (Read Replica)
  postgres-standby:
    image: postgres:15-alpine
    container_name: postgres-standby
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_USER=replicator
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=replicator_password
      - PGPASSWORD=replicator_password
    volumes:
      - postgres-standby-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
      - ./postgres/standby/postgresql.conf:/etc/postgresql/postgresql.conf
      - ./postgres/setup-standby.sh:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/setup-standby.sh
    networks:
      - db-network
    ports:
      - "5433:5432"
    depends_on:
      - postgres-primary

networks:
  db-network:
    driver: bridge

volumes:
  postgres-primary-data:
  postgres-standby-data:

MongoDB Replica Set

version: "3.8"

services:
  mongo1:
    image: mongo:6
    container_name: mongo1
    command: ["--replSet", "rs0", "--bind_ip_all", "--port", "27017"]
    ports:
      - "27017:27017"
    volumes:
      - mongo1-data:/data/db
      - ./mongo/mongo-init.sh:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/mongo-init.sh:ro
    networks:
      - mongo-network
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "mongosh", "--eval", "db.adminCommand('ping')"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5

  mongo2:
    image: mongo:6
    container_name: mongo2
    command: ["--replSet", "rs0", "--bind_ip_all", "--port", "27017"]
    ports:
      - "27018:27017"
    volumes:
      - mongo2-data:/data/db
    networks:
      - mongo-network
    depends_on:
      - mongo1

  mongo3:
    image: mongo:6
    container_name: mongo3
    command: ["--replSet", "rs0", "--bind_ip_all", "--port", "27017"]
    ports:
      - "27019:27017"
    volumes:
      - mongo3-data:/data/db
    networks:
      - mongo-network
    depends_on:
      - mongo1

networks:
  mongo-network:
    driver: bridge

volumes:
  mongo1-data:
  mongo2-data:
  mongo3-data:

MySQL with Master-Slave Replication

version: "3.8"

services:
  # MySQL Master
  mysql-master:
    image: mysql:8.0
    container_name: mysql-master
    environment:
      - MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=root
      - MYSQL_DATABASE=myapp
      - MYSQL_USER=repl_user
      - MYSQL_PASSWORD=repl_password
    volumes:
      - mysql-master-data:/var/lib/mysql
      - ./mysql/master/my.cnf:/etc/mysql/conf.d/my.cnf:ro
      - ./mysql/master/init.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/init.sql:ro
    networks:
      - mysql-network
    ports:
      - "3306:3306"
    command: --server-id=1 --log-bin=mysql-bin --binlog-do-db=myapp

  # MySQL Slave
  mysql-slave:
    image: mysql:8.0
    container_name: mysql-slave
    environment:
      - MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=root
      - MYSQL_DATABASE=myapp
    volumes:
      - mysql-slave-data:/var/lib/mysql
      - ./mysql/slave/my.cnf:/etc/mysql/conf.d/my.cnf:ro
      - ./mysql/slave/init.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/init.sql:ro
    networks:
      - mysql-network
    ports:
      - "3307:3306"
    depends_on:
      - mysql-master
    command: --server-id=2 --relay-log=mysql-relay-bin --read-only=1

networks:
  mysql-network:
    driver: bridge

volumes:
  mysql-master-data:
  mysql-slave-data:

---

Caching and Message Queues

Redis Cluster

version: "3.8"

services:
  redis-node-1:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    container_name: redis-node-1
    command: redis-server --cluster-enabled yes --cluster-config-file nodes.conf --cluster-node-timeout 5000 --appendonly yes
    ports:
      - "7001:6379"
    volumes:
      - redis-node-1:/data
    networks:
      - redis-cluster

  redis-node-2:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    container_name: redis-node-2
    command: redis-server --cluster-enabled yes --cluster-config-file nodes.conf --cluster-node-timeout 5000 --appendonly yes
    ports:
      - "7002:6379"
    volumes:
      - redis-node-2:/data
    networks:
      - redis-cluster

  redis-node-3:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    container_name: redis-node-3
    command: redis-server --cluster-enabled yes --cluster-config-file nodes.conf --cluster-node-timeout 5000 --appendonly yes
    ports:
      - "7003:6379"
    volumes:
      - redis-node-3:/data
    networks:
      - redis-cluster

  redis-node-4:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    container_name: redis-node-4
    command: redis-server --cluster-enabled yes --cluster-config-file nodes.conf --cluster-node-timeout 5000 --appendonly yes
    ports:
      - "7004:6379"
    volumes:
      - redis-node-4:/data
    networks:
      - redis-cluster

  redis-node-5:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    container_name: redis-node-5
    command: redis-server --cluster-enabled yes --cluster-config-file nodes.conf --cluster-node-timeout 5000 --appendonly yes
    ports:
      - "7005:6379"
    volumes:
      - redis-node-5:/data
    networks:
      - redis-cluster

  redis-node-6:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    container_name: redis-node-6
    command: redis-server --cluster-enabled yes --cluster-config-file nodes.conf --cluster-node-timeout 5000 --appendonly yes
    ports:
      - "7006:6379"
    volumes:
      - redis-node-6:/data
    networks:
      - redis-cluster

  # Cluster initialization
  redis-cluster-init:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    container_name: redis-cluster-init
    command: >
      sh -c "sleep 5 &&
             redis-cli --cluster create
             redis-node-1:6379
             redis-node-2:6379
             redis-node-3:6379
             redis-node-4:6379
             redis-node-5:6379
             redis-node-6:6379
             --cluster-replicas 1 --cluster-yes"
    networks:
      - redis-cluster
    depends_on:
      - redis-node-1
      - redis-node-2
      - redis-node-3
      - redis-node-4
      - redis-node-5
      - redis-node-6

networks:
  redis-cluster:
    driver: bridge

volumes:
  redis-node-1:
  redis-node-2:
  redis-node-3:
  redis-node-4:
  redis-node-5:
  redis-node-6:

RabbitMQ with High Availability

version: "3.8"

services:
  rabbitmq1:
    image: rabbitmq:3-management-alpine
    container_name: rabbitmq1
    hostname: rabbitmq1
    environment:
      - RABBITMQ_ERLANG_COOKIE=secret_cookie
      - RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_USER=admin
      - RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_PASS=admin
    volumes:
      - rabbitmq1-data:/var/lib/rabbitmq
      - ./rabbitmq/rabbitmq.conf:/etc/rabbitmq/rabbitmq.conf:ro
      - ./rabbitmq/enabled_plugins:/etc/rabbitmq/enabled_plugins:ro
    ports:
      - "5672:5672"
      - "15672:15672"
    networks:
      - rabbitmq-network

  rabbitmq2:
    image: rabbitmq:3-management-alpine
    container_name: rabbitmq2
    hostname: rabbitmq2
    environment:
      - RABBITMQ_ERLANG_COOKIE=secret_cookie
      - RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_USER=admin
      - RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_PASS=admin
    volumes:
      - rabbitmq2-data:/var/lib/rabbitmq
      - ./rabbitmq/rabbitmq.conf:/etc/rabbitmq/rabbitmq.conf:ro
      - ./rabbitmq/enabled_plugins:/etc/rabbitmq/enabled_plugins:ro
    ports:
      - "5673:5672"
      - "15673:15672"
    networks:
      - rabbitmq-network
    depends_on:
      - rabbitmq1

  rabbitmq3:
    image: rabbitmq:3-management-alpine
    container_name: rabbitmq3
    hostname: rabbitmq3
    environment:
      - RABBITMQ_ERLANG_COOKIE=secret_cookie
      - RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_USER=admin
      - RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_PASS=admin
    volumes:
      - rabbitmq3-data:/var/lib/rabbitmq
      - ./rabbitmq/rabbitmq.conf:/etc/rabbitmq/rabbitmq.conf:ro
      - ./rabbitmq/enabled_plugins:/etc/rabbitmq/enabled_plugins:ro
    ports:
      - "5674:5672"
      - "15674:15672"
    networks:
      - rabbitmq-network
    depends_on:
      - rabbitmq1

  # HAProxy Load Balancer
  haproxy:
    image: haproxy:alpine
    container_name: rabbitmq-haproxy
    volumes:
      - ./haproxy/haproxy.cfg:/usr/local/etc/haproxy/haproxy.cfg:ro
    ports:
      - "5670:5670"
      - "15670:15670"
      - "8404:8404"
    networks:
      - rabbitmq-network
    depends_on:
      - rabbitmq1
      - rabbitmq2
      - rabbitmq3

networks:
  rabbitmq-network:
    driver: bridge

volumes:
  rabbitmq1-data:
  rabbitmq2-data:
  rabbitmq3-data:

Apache Kafka with Schema Registry

version: "3.8"

services:
  zookeeper:
    image: confluentinc/cp-zookeeper:latest
    container_name: zookeeper
    environment:
      ZOOKEEPER_CLIENT_PORT: 2181
      ZOOKEEPER_TICK_TIME: 2000
    volumes:
      - zookeeper-data:/var/lib/zookeeper/data
      - zookeeper-logs:/var/lib/zookeeper/log
    networks:
      - kafka-network

  kafka-broker-1:
    image: confluentinc/cp-kafka:latest
    container_name: kafka-broker-1
    depends_on:
      - zookeeper
    ports:
      - "9092:9092"
    environment:
      KAFKA_BROKER_ID: 1
      KAFKA_ZOOKEEPER_CONNECT: zookeeper:2181
      KAFKA_ADVERTISED_LISTENERS: PLAINTEXT://kafka-broker-1:9092,PLAINTEXT_HOST://localhost:29092
      KAFKA_LISTENER_SECURITY_PROTOCOL_MAP: PLAINTEXT:PLAINTEXT,PLAINTEXT_HOST:PLAINTEXT
      KAFKA_INTER_BROKER_LISTENER_NAME: PLAINTEXT
      KAFKA_OFFSETS_TOPIC_REPLICATION_FACTOR: 3
      KAFKA_TRANSACTION_STATE_LOG_MIN_ISR: 2
      KAFKA_TRANSACTION_STATE_LOG_REPLICATION_FACTOR: 3
    volumes:
      - kafka-broker-1-data:/var/lib/kafka/data
    networks:
      - kafka-network

  kafka-broker-2:
    image: confluentinc/cp-kafka:latest
    container_name: kafka-broker-2
    depends_on:
      - zookeeper
    ports:
      - "9093:9092"
    environment:
      KAFKA_BROKER_ID: 2
      KAFKA_ZOOKEEPER_CONNECT: zookeeper:2181
      KAFKA_ADVERTISED_LISTENERS: PLAINTEXT://kafka-broker-2:9092,PLAINTEXT_HOST://localhost:29093
      KAFKA_LISTENER_SECURITY_PROTOCOL_MAP: PLAINTEXT:PLAINTEXT,PLAINTEXT_HOST:PLAINTEXT
      KAFKA_INTER_BROKER_LISTENER_NAME: PLAINTEXT
      KAFKA_OFFSETS_TOPIC_REPLICATION_FACTOR: 3
      KAFKA_TRANSACTION_STATE_LOG_MIN_ISR: 2
      KAFKA_TRANSACTION_STATE_LOG_REPLICATION_FACTOR: 3
    volumes:
      - kafka-broker-2-data:/var/lib/kafka/data
    networks:
      - kafka-network

  kafka-broker-3:
    image: confluentinc/cp-kafka:latest
    container_name: kafka-broker-3
    depends_on:
      - zookeeper
    ports:
      - "9094:9092"
    environment:
      KAFKA_BROKER_ID: 3
      KAFKA_ZOOKEEPER_CONNECT: zookeeper:2181
      KAFKA_ADVERTISED_LISTENERS: PLAINTEXT://kafka-broker-3:9092,PLAINTEXT_HOST://localhost:29094
      KAFKA_LISTENER_SECURITY_PROTOCOL_MAP: PLAINTEXT:PLAINTEXT,PLAINTEXT_HOST:PLAINTEXT
      KAFKA_INTER_BROKER_LISTENER_NAME: PLAINTEXT
      KAFKA_OFFSETS_TOPIC_REPLICATION_FACTOR: 3
      KAFKA_TRANSACTION_STATE_LOG_MIN_ISR: 2
      KAFKA_TRANSACTION_STATE_LOG_REPLICATION_FACTOR: 3
    volumes:
      - kafka-broker-3-data:/var/lib/kafka/data
    networks:
      - kafka-network

  schema-registry:
    image: confluentinc/cp-schema-registry:latest
    container_name: schema-registry
    depends_on:
      - kafka-broker-1
      - kafka-broker-2
      - kafka-broker-3
    ports:
      - "8081:8081"
    environment:
      SCHEMA_REGISTRY_HOST_NAME: schema-registry
      SCHEMA_REGISTRY_KAFKASTORE_BOOTSTRAP_SERVERS: kafka-broker-1:9092,kafka-broker-2:9092,kafka-broker-3:9092
      SCHEMA_REGISTRY_LISTENERS: http://0.0.0.0:8081
    networks:
      - kafka-network

  kafka-ui:
    image: provectuslabs/kafka-ui:latest
    container_name: kafka-ui
    depends_on:
      - kafka-broker-1
      - kafka-broker-2
      - kafka-broker-3
      - schema-registry
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    environment:
      KAFKA_CLUSTERS_0_NAME: local
      KAFKA_CLUSTERS_0_BOOTSTRAPSERVERS: kafka-broker-1:9092,kafka-broker-2:9092,kafka-broker-3:9092
      KAFKA_CLUSTERS_0_ZOOKEEPER: zookeeper:2181
      KAFKA_CLUSTERS_0_SCHEMAREGISTRY: http://schema-registry:8081
    networks:
      - kafka-network

networks:
  kafka-network:
    driver: bridge

volumes:
  zookeeper-data:
  zookeeper-logs:
  kafka-broker-1-data:
  kafka-broker-2-data:
  kafka-broker-3-data:

---

Monitoring and Logging

Complete Monitoring Stack (Prometheus, Grafana, AlertManager)

version: "3.8"

services:
  prometheus:
    image: prom/prometheus:latest
    container_name: prometheus
    command:
      - '--config.file=/etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml'
      - '--storage.tsdb.path=/prometheus'
      - '--web.console.libraries=/etc/prometheus/console_libraries'
      - '--web.console.templates=/etc/prometheus/consoles'
      - '--storage.tsdb.retention.time=30d'
      - '--web.enable-lifecycle'
    ports:
      - "9090:9090"
    volumes:
      - ./prometheus/prometheus.yml:/etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml:ro
      - ./prometheus/alert_rules.yml:/etc/prometheus/alert_rules.yml:ro
      - prometheus-data:/prometheus
    networks:
      - monitoring
    restart: unless-stopped

  alertmanager:
    image: prom/alertmanager:latest
    container_name: alertmanager
    command:
      - '--config.file=/etc/alertmanager/config.yml'
      - '--storage.path=/alertmanager'
    ports:
      - "9093:9093"
    volumes:
      - ./alertmanager/config.yml:/etc/alertmanager/config.yml:ro
      - alertmanager-data:/alertmanager
    networks:
      - monitoring
    restart: unless-stopped

  grafana:
    image: grafana/grafana:latest
    container_name: grafana
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    environment:
      - GF_SECURITY_ADMIN_USER=admin
      - GF_SECURITY_ADMIN_PASSWORD=admin
      - GF_INSTALL_PLUGINS=grafana-clock-panel,grafana-piechart-panel
      - GF_SERVER_ROOT_URL=http://localhost:3000
    volumes:
      - grafana-data:/var/lib/grafana
      - ./grafana/provisioning:/etc/grafana/provisioning:ro
      - ./grafana/dashboards:/var/lib/grafana/dashboards:ro
    networks:
      - monitoring
    depends_on:
      - prometheus
    restart: unless-stopped

  node-exporter:
    image: prom/node-exporter:latest
    container_name: node-exporter
    command:
      - '--path.procfs=/host/proc'
      - '--path.sysfs=/host/sys'
      - '--path.rootfs=/rootfs'
      - '--collector.filesystem.mount-points-exclude=^/(sys|proc|dev|host|etc)($$|/)'
    ports:
      - "9100:9100"
    volumes:
      - /proc:/host/proc:ro
      - /sys:/host/sys:ro
      - /:/rootfs:ro
    networks:
      - monitoring
    restart: unless-stopped

  cadvisor:
    image: gcr.io/cadvisor/cadvisor:latest
    container_name: cadvisor
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    volumes:
      - /:/rootfs:ro
      - /var/run:/var/run:ro
      - /sys:/sys:ro
      - /var/lib/docker/:/var/lib/docker:ro
      - /dev/disk/:/dev/disk:ro
    networks:
      - monitoring
    restart: unless-stopped
    privileged: true

  postgres-exporter:
    image: prometheuscommunity/postgres-exporter:latest
    container_name: postgres-exporter
    environment:
      DATA_SOURCE_NAME: "postgresql://postgres:password@postgres:5432/myapp?sslmode=disable"
    ports:
      - "9187:9187"
    networks:
      - monitoring
    restart: unless-stopped

  redis-exporter:
    image: oliver006/redis_exporter:latest
    container_name: redis-exporter
    environment:
      - REDIS_ADDR=redis://redis:6379
    ports:
      - "9121:9121"
    networks:
      - monitoring
    restart: unless-stopped

networks:
  monitoring:
    driver: bridge

volumes:
  prometheus-data:
  alertmanager-data:
  grafana-data:

ELK Stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana) + Filebeat

version: "3.8"

services:
  elasticsearch:
    image: docker.elastic.co/elasticsearch/elasticsearch:8.10.0
    container_name: elasticsearch
    environment:
      - discovery.type=single-node
      - "ES_JAVA_OPTS=-Xms2g -Xmx2g"
      - xpack.security.enabled=false
      - xpack.monitoring.collection.enabled=true
    ports:
      - "9200:9200"
      - "9300:9300"
    volumes:
      - elasticsearch-data:/usr/share/elasticsearch/data
      - ./elasticsearch/elasticsearch.yml:/usr/share/elasticsearch/config/elasticsearch.yml:ro
    networks:
      - elk
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "curl -f http://localhost:9200/_cluster/health || exit 1"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 5

  logstash:
    image: docker.elastic.co/logstash/logstash:8.10.0
    container_name: logstash
    volumes:
      - ./logstash/pipeline:/usr/share/logstash/pipeline:ro
      - ./logstash/config/logstash.yml:/usr/share/logstash/config/logstash.yml:ro
      - ./logstash/patterns:/usr/share/logstash/patterns:ro
    ports:
      - "5000:5000/tcp"
      - "5000:5000/udp"
      - "9600:9600"
    environment:
      LS_JAVA_OPTS: "-Xmx1g -Xms1g"
    networks:
      - elk
    depends_on:
      elasticsearch:
        condition: service_healthy

  kibana:
    image: docker.elastic.co/kibana/kibana:8.10.0
    container_name: kibana
    ports:
      - "5601:5601"
    environment:
      ELASTICSEARCH_URL: http://elasticsearch:9200
      ELASTICSEARCH_HOSTS: http://elasticsearch:9200
    volumes:
      - ./kibana/kibana.yml:/usr/share/kibana/config/kibana.yml:ro
    networks:
      - elk
    depends_on:
      elasticsearch:
        condition: service_healthy

  filebeat:
    image: docker.elastic.co/beats/filebeat:8.10.0
    container_name: filebeat
    user: root
    volumes:
      - ./filebeat/filebeat.yml:/usr/share/filebeat/filebeat.yml:ro
      - /var/lib/docker/containers:/var/lib/docker/containers:ro
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro
      - filebeat-data:/usr/share/filebeat/data
    command: filebeat -e -strict.perms=false
    networks:
      - elk
    depends_on:
      - elasticsearch
      - logstash

networks:
  elk:
    driver: bridge

volumes:
  elasticsearch-data:
  filebeat-data:

---

CI/CD and Development Tools

Complete GitLab Stack

version: "3.8"

services:
  gitlab:
    image: gitlab/gitlab-ce:latest
    container_name: gitlab
    restart: unless-stopped
    hostname: gitlab.local
    environment:
      GITLAB_OMNIBUS_CONFIG: |
        external_url 'http://gitlab.local'
        gitlab_rails['gitlab_shell_ssh_port'] = 2222
        gitlab_rails['backup_keep_time'] = 604800
        gitlab_ci['backup_keep_time'] = 604800
        prometheus_monitoring['enable'] = true
    ports:
      - "80:80"
      - "443:443"
      - "2222:22"
    volumes:
      - gitlab-config:/etc/gitlab
      - gitlab-logs:/var/log/gitlab
      - gitlab-data:/var/opt/gitlab
    networks:
      - gitlab-network
    shm_size: '256m'

  gitlab-runner:
    image: gitlab/gitlab-runner:latest
    container_name: gitlab-runner
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - gitlab-runner-config:/etc/gitlab-runner
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
    networks:
      - gitlab-network
    depends_on:
      - gitlab

  # PostgreSQL for GitLab (external database)
  postgres:
    image: postgres:15-alpine
    container_name: gitlab-postgres
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: gitlabhq_production
      POSTGRES_USER: gitlab
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: gitlab
    volumes:
      - gitlab-postgres-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    networks:
      - gitlab-network

  # Redis for GitLab
  redis:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    container_name: gitlab-redis
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - gitlab-redis-data:/data
    networks:
      - gitlab-network

networks:
  gitlab-network:
    driver: bridge

volumes:
  gitlab-config:
  gitlab-logs:
  gitlab-data:
  gitlab-runner-config:
  gitlab-postgres-data:
  gitlab-redis-data:

This comprehensive EXAMPLES.md provides 20+ production-ready Docker Compose examples covering all major use cases. Each example includes:

• Complete service definitions
• Network configurations
• Volume management
• Health checks
• Environment variables
• Dependency management

Would you like me to continue with the remaining sections (Content Management Systems, Data Processing, Security, Networking Examples, and Advanced Patterns)?

Docker Compose Orchestration

A comprehensive skill for managing multi-container applications with Docker Compose, covering service orchestration, networking, volumes, health checks, and production deployment strategies.

Overview

Docker 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, networks, and volumes. Then, with a single command, you create and start all the services from your configuration.

This skill provides comprehensive knowledge for:

• Building and orchestrating multi-container applications
• Configuring service dependencies and startup order
• Managing networks and inter-service communication
• Implementing persistent storage with volumes
• Setting up health checks and monitoring
• Deploying to development, staging, and production environments

What is Docker Compose?

Docker Compose simplifies the management of multi-container Docker applications by:

1. Declarative Configuration: Define your entire application stack in a single YAML file 2. Service Management: Start, stop, and rebuild services with simple commands 3. Automatic Networking: Services can communicate using service names 4. Volume Management: Persistent data across container restarts 5. Environment Control: Different configurations for dev, staging, and production 6. Dependency Handling: Control service startup order and dependencies

Core Concepts

Services

A service is a container configuration that defines:

• Which Docker image to use
• Port mappings
• Environment variables
• Volume mounts
• Networks to connect to
• Resource limits
• Health checks

Networks

Networks enable communication between containers:

• Bridge Networks: Default network type for isolated communication
• Custom Networks: Better isolation and service discovery
• Host Networks: Use host's networking stack
• Overlay Networks: Multi-host networking for swarm mode

Volumes

Volumes provide persistent storage:

• Named Volumes: Managed by Docker, persisted across containers
• Bind Mounts: Map host directories to container paths
• tmpfs Mounts: In-memory storage for temporary data

Basic Compose File Structure

version: "3.8"

services:
  web:
    image: nginx:alpine
    ports:
      - "80:80"
    volumes:
      - ./html:/usr/share/nginx/html
    networks:
      - frontend

  app:
    build: ./app
    environment:
      - DATABASE_URL=postgresql://db:5432/myapp
    depends_on:
      - db
    networks:
      - frontend
      - backend

  db:
    image: postgres:15-alpine
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=secret
    volumes:
      - db-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    networks:
      - backend

networks:
  frontend:
  backend:

volumes:
  db-data:

Common Use Cases

1. Full-Stack Web Applications

Orchestrate frontend, backend, and database services together:

services:
  frontend:    # React/Vue/Angular
  backend:     # Node.js/Python/Java
  database:    # PostgreSQL/MySQL/MongoDB
  cache:       # Redis/Memcached
  reverse-proxy: # NGINX/Traefik

2. Microservices Architecture

Manage multiple independent services:

services:
  auth-service:
  user-service:
  order-service:
  payment-service:
  notification-service:
  api-gateway:
  message-broker:
  database:

3. Development Environments

Create reproducible dev environments:

services:
  app:         # Application with hot reload
  db:          # Database
  adminer:     # Database UI
  mailhog:     # Email testing
  redis:       # Caching

4. Data Processing Pipelines

Build ETL and data processing systems:

services:
  producer:    # Data source
  kafka:       # Message queue
  consumer:    # Data processor
  database:    # Data storage
  analytics:   # Data visualization

Essential Commands

Starting and Stopping

docker compose up              # Start services
docker compose up -d           # Start in background
docker compose down            # Stop and remove
docker compose stop            # Stop services
docker compose restart         # Restart services

Building and Pulling

docker compose build           # Build all images
docker compose pull            # Pull all images
docker compose build --no-cache  # Clean build

Viewing and Monitoring

docker compose ps              # List containers
docker compose logs -f         # Follow logs
docker compose top             # Running processes
docker compose events          # Real-time events

Executing Commands

docker compose exec web sh     # Interactive shell
docker compose run --rm app test  # Run one-off command

Service Configuration Options

Image and Build

services:
  web:
    image: nginx:alpine        # Use existing image
    # OR
    build:
      context: ./app           # Build from Dockerfile
      dockerfile: Dockerfile.prod
      args:
        NODE_ENV: production

Ports and Networking

services:
  web:
    ports:
      - "8080:80"              # Host:Container
    expose:
      - "8080"                 # Internal only
    networks:
      - frontend
      - backend

Environment Variables

services:
  app:
    environment:
      - NODE_ENV=production
      - API_KEY=secret
    env_file:
      - .env
      - .env.production

Volumes and Storage

services:
  db:
    volumes:
      - db-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data    # Named volume
      - ./init.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/init.sql  # Bind mount
      - type: tmpfs                          # In-memory
        target: /tmp

Dependencies

services:
  web:
    depends_on:
      db:
        condition: service_healthy
      cache:
        condition: service_started

Health Checks

services:
  web:
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost/health"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 3
      start_period: 40s

Resource Limits

services:
  app:
    deploy:
      resources:
        limits:
          cpus: '2'
          memory: 2G
        reservations:
          cpus: '1'
          memory: 1G

Environment-Specific Configurations

Development (compose.override.yaml)

services:
  app:
    build:
      target: development
    volumes:
      - ./src:/app/src        # Hot reload
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"           # Expose for debugging
    environment:
      - DEBUG=*

Production (compose.prod.yaml)

services:
  app:
    image: myapp:${VERSION}
    restart: always
    deploy:
      replicas: 3
      resources:
        limits:
          cpus: '2'
          memory: 2G

Usage

# Development (auto-loads compose.override.yaml)
docker compose up

# Production
docker compose -f compose.yaml -f compose.prod.yaml up -d

# Staging
docker compose -f compose.yaml -f compose.staging.yaml up -d

Networking Patterns

Frontend-Backend Separation

networks:
  frontend:
    driver: bridge
  backend:
    driver: bridge
    internal: true  # No external access

services:
  web:
    networks:
      - frontend

  api:
    networks:
      - frontend
      - backend

  db:
    networks:
      - backend     # Isolated from frontend

Service Discovery

Services can communicate using service names:

services:
  api:
    environment:
      - DATABASE_URL=postgresql://db:5432/myapp
      - REDIS_URL=redis://cache:6379

  db:
    # Accessible as 'db' hostname

  cache:
    # Accessible as 'cache' hostname

Volume Patterns

Named Volumes

volumes:
  db-data:         # Docker-managed
  uploads:
  cache:

services:
  db:
    volumes:
      - db-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data

Bind Mounts (Development)

services:
  app:
    volumes:
      - ./src:/app/src              # Source code
      - ./config:/app/config:ro     # Read-only config
      - /app/node_modules           # Preserve dependencies

Shared Volumes

services:
  app:
    volumes:
      - shared-uploads:/uploads

  worker:
    volumes:
      - shared-uploads:/uploads

volumes:
  shared-uploads:

Health Check Strategies

HTTP Endpoint

healthcheck:
  test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost/health"]
  interval: 30s
  timeout: 10s
  retries: 3

Database Check

# PostgreSQL
healthcheck:
  test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U postgres"]

# MySQL
healthcheck:
  test: ["CMD", "mysqladmin", "ping", "-h", "localhost"]

# MongoDB
healthcheck:
  test: ["CMD", "mongosh", "--eval", "db.adminCommand('ping')"]

Custom Script

healthcheck:
  test: ["CMD", "node", "healthcheck.js"]
  interval: 30s
  timeout: 10s
  retries: 3

Best Practices

1. Use Specific Image Tags

# Good
image: postgres:15-alpine

# Avoid
image: postgres:latest

2. Define Health Checks

services:
  db:
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready"]
      interval: 10s

3. Separate Networks

networks:
  frontend:
  backend:
    internal: true

4. Use Named Volumes

volumes:
  db-data:    # Managed by Docker
  uploads:

5. Environment Files

services:
  app:
    env_file:
      - .env              # Base configuration
      - .env.local        # Local overrides

6. Resource Limits

deploy:
  resources:
    limits:
      cpus: '2'
      memory: 2G

7. Logging Configuration

logging:
  driver: json-file
  options:
    max-size: "10m"
    max-file: "3"

Common Patterns

NGINX Reverse Proxy

services:
  nginx:
    image: nginx:alpine
    ports:
      - "80:80"
    volumes:
      - ./nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf:ro
    depends_on:
      - app

  app:
    expose:
      - "3000"

Database with Adminer

services:
  db:
    image: postgres:15-alpine

  adminer:
    image: adminer:latest
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"

Cache Layer

services:
  app:
    environment:
      - REDIS_URL=redis://cache:6379

  cache:
    image: redis:alpine
    volumes:
      - cache-data:/data

volumes:
  cache-data:

Scaling Services

# Scale specific service
docker compose up -d --scale worker=5

# Scale multiple services
docker compose up -d --scale worker=5 --scale consumer=3

services:
  worker:
    # Will be scaled horizontally
    build: ./worker
    depends_on:
      - rabbitmq

Troubleshooting

Services Can't Communicate

# Check network configuration
docker compose config

# Verify service names
docker compose ps

# Test connectivity
docker compose exec service1 ping service2

Volume Issues

# List volumes
docker volume ls

# Inspect volume
docker volume inspect project_volume-name

# Remove volumes
docker compose down -v

Build Problems

# Clean build
docker compose build --no-cache

# View build output
docker compose build --progress=plain

# Force rebuild
docker compose up --build --force-recreate

View Logs

# All services
docker compose logs -f

# Specific service
docker compose logs -f web

# Last 100 lines
docker compose logs --tail=100 web

Integration with CI/CD

GitHub Actions Example

name: Deploy

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v2

      - name: Deploy with Docker Compose
        run: |
          docker compose -f compose.yaml -f compose.prod.yaml pull
          docker compose -f compose.yaml -f compose.prod.yaml up -d

GitLab CI Example

deploy:
  stage: deploy
  script:
    - docker compose -f compose.yaml -f compose.prod.yaml pull
    - docker compose -f compose.yaml -f compose.prod.yaml up -d --remove-orphans
  only:
    - main

When to Use Docker Compose

Ideal For:

• Local development environments
• Single-host deployments
• Testing and CI/CD
• Small to medium applications
• Prototyping and demos
• Development team consistency

Consider Alternatives For:

• Large-scale production clusters (use Kubernetes)
• Multi-host deployments (use Docker Swarm or Kubernetes)
• Complex orchestration requirements
• Auto-scaling needs
• Advanced load balancing

Quick Start Example

1. Create compose.yaml:

version: "3.8"

services:
  web:
    image: nginx:alpine
    ports:
      - "80:80"
    volumes:
      - ./html:/usr/share/nginx/html

2. Create HTML content:

mkdir html
echo "<h1>Hello from Docker Compose!</h1>" > html/index.html

3. Start the application:

docker compose up -d

4. Visit http://localhost

5. Stop the application:

docker compose down

Resources

• Official Documentation: https://docs.docker.com/compose/
• Compose File Reference: https://docs.docker.com/compose/compose-file/
• Example Applications: https://github.com/docker/awesome-compose
• Docker Hub: https://hub.docker.com/
• Best Practices: https://docs.docker.com/develop/dev-best-practices/

Getting Help

# Command help
docker compose --help
docker compose up --help

# Validate configuration
docker compose config

# View running containers
docker compose ps

# View logs
docker compose logs -f

---

For detailed examples, advanced patterns, and comprehensive configurations, see the full SKILL.md documentation.