tomevault-io Docker Compose Patterns
Production-ready Docker Compose configurations for multi-container applications based on official Docker Compose Specification and current best practices.
Sources: This guide is based on Docker Compose Specification, Docker Compose Services Reference, and Docker Compose v2 (2022+) best practices.
Important: Version Field is Obsolete
The version: field is obsolete as of Docker Compose v2 (2022). Docker Compose now ignores this field entirely. Modern compose files should NOT include a version: field.
Why: Docker Compose v1.27.0+ (2020) introduced the Compose Specification, making the version field optional. The Compose Specification is now the recommended version.
Source: Docker Compose Specification
Compose File Structure Template
services:
# Application service
app:
build:
context: .
dockerfile: Dockerfile
target: production
args:
NODE_ENV: production
image: myapp:latest
container_name: myapp
restart: unless-stopped
ports:
- "3000:3000"
environment:
- NODE_ENV=production
- DATABASE_URL=postgresql://postgres:password@db:5432/myapp
- REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379
env_file:
- .env
depends_on:
db:
condition: service_healthy
redis:
condition: service_healthy
volumes:
- ./uploads:/app/uploads
- app_logs:/app/logs
networks:
- app_network
healthcheck:
test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:3000/health"]
interval: 30s
timeout: 10s
retries: 3
start_period: 40s
# Database service
db:
image: postgres:16-alpine
container_name: myapp_db
restart: unless-stopped
environment:
- POSTGRES_USER=postgres
- POSTGRES_PASSWORD=password
- POSTGRES_DB=myapp
volumes:
- postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
- ./init.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/init.sql:ro
networks:
- app_network
healthcheck:
test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U postgres"]
interval: 10s
timeout: 5s
retries: 5
# Redis service
redis:
image: redis:7-alpine
container_name: myapp_redis
restart: unless-stopped
command: redis-server --appendonly yes
volumes:
- redis_data:/data
networks:
- app_network
healthcheck:
test: ["CMD", "redis-cli", "ping"]
interval: 10s
timeout: 5s
retries: 5
volumes:
postgres_data:
driver: local
redis_data:
driver: local
app_logs:
driver: local
networks:
app_network:
driver: bridge
Health Checks in Compose
Health checks work the same way as Dockerfile HEALTHCHECK and use the same default values. Your Compose file can override values set in the Dockerfile.
services:
web:
image: myapp:latest
healthcheck:
test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost/health"]
interval: 30s
timeout: 10s
retries: 3
start_period: 40s
Health check attributes:
test: Command to run (can be string or array)interval: Time between checks (default: 30s)timeout: Maximum time for check to complete (default: 30s)retries: Consecutive failures before marking unhealthy (default: 3)start_period: Grace period for container initialization (default: 0s)
Source: Docker Compose Health Checks
Depends_on with Conditions
Use condition to wait for services to be healthy before starting dependent services.
services:
app:
depends_on:
db:
condition: service_healthy # Wait for health check to pass
redis:
condition: service_started # Just wait for container to start
Available conditions:
service_started: Default, just waits for container to startservice_healthy: Waits for health check to passservice_completed_successfully: Waits for one-time task to complete
Source: Docker Compose depends_on
Common Service Patterns
Node.js Application
services:
app:
build:
context: .
dockerfile: Dockerfile
target: ${BUILD_TARGET:-production}
image: ${APP_NAME}:${VERSION:-latest}
restart: unless-stopped
ports:
- "${APP_PORT:-3000}:3000"
environment:
NODE_ENV: ${NODE_ENV:-production}
DATABASE_URL: ${DATABASE_URL}
REDIS_URL: redis://redis:6379
env_file:
- .env
depends_on:
db:
condition: service_healthy
volumes:
# Development: mount source code
- ./src:/app/src:ro
# Production: named volumes for data
- uploads:/app/uploads
- logs:/app/logs
networks:
- app_network
healthcheck:
test: ["CMD", "node", "healthcheck.js"]
interval: 30s
timeout: 10s
retries: 3
deploy:
resources:
limits:
cpus: '1'
memory: 1G
reservations:
cpus: '0.5'
memory: 512M
Rails with Background Workers
services:
web:
build:
context: .
dockerfile: Dockerfile
command: bundle exec rails server -b 0.0.0.0
restart: unless-stopped
ports:
- "3000:3000"
environment:
RAILS_ENV: ${RAILS_ENV:-production}
DATABASE_URL: postgresql://postgres:password@db:5432/myapp
REDIS_URL: redis://redis:6379/0
SECRET_KEY_BASE: ${SECRET_KEY_BASE}
depends_on:
db:
condition: service_healthy
redis:
condition: service_started
volumes:
- ./storage:/app/storage
- ./log:/app/log
networks:
- app_network
sidekiq:
build:
context: .
dockerfile: Dockerfile
command: bundle exec sidekiq
restart: unless-stopped
environment:
RAILS_ENV: ${RAILS_ENV:-production}
DATABASE_URL: postgresql://postgres:password@db:5432/myapp
REDIS_URL: redis://redis:6379/0
depends_on:
- db
- redis
volumes:
- ./storage:/app/storage
- ./log:/app/log
networks:
- app_network
Python/Django with Celery
services:
web:
build:
context: .
dockerfile: Dockerfile
command: gunicorn myapp.wsgi:application --bind 0.0.0.0:8000 --workers 4
restart: unless-stopped
ports:
- "8000:8000"
environment:
DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE: myapp.settings.production
DATABASE_URL: postgresql://postgres:password@db:5432/myapp
REDIS_URL: redis://redis:6379/0
SECRET_KEY: ${SECRET_KEY}
depends_on:
db:
condition: service_healthy
volumes:
- ./media:/app/media
- ./static:/app/static
networks:
- app_network
celery_worker:
build:
context: .
dockerfile: Dockerfile
command: celery -A myapp worker -l info
restart: unless-stopped
environment:
DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE: myapp.settings.production
DATABASE_URL: postgresql://postgres:password@db:5432/myapp
REDIS_URL: redis://redis:6379/0
depends_on:
- db
- redis
networks:
- app_network
celery_beat:
build:
context: .
dockerfile: Dockerfile
command: celery -A myapp beat -l info
restart: unless-stopped
environment:
DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE: myapp.settings.production
REDIS_URL: redis://redis:6379/0
depends_on:
- redis
networks:
- app_network
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