Docker Compose V2: The Complete Guide to Modern Container Orchestration

Docker Compose V2 brings significant improvements to container orchestration with enhanced features, better performance, and improved developer experience. This guide explores everything you need to know about Docker Compose V2.

Architecture Overview

Key Features

Basic Configuration

Service Definition

# docker-compose.yml
services:
  web:
    build:
      context: ./web
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
      args:
        NODE_ENV: development
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    environment:
      - DATABASE_URL=postgres://user:pass@db:5432/dbname
    depends_on:
      db:
        condition: service_healthy
    deploy:
      replicas: 2
      resources:
        limits:
          cpus: '0.50'
          memory: 512M

  db:
    image: postgres:14-alpine
    volumes:
      - db_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_USER=user
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=pass
      - POSTGRES_DB=dbname
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U user -d dbname"]
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5

volumes:
  db_data:

Profile Configuration

# docker-compose.yml
services:
  web:
    profiles: ["web", "frontend"]
    # ... service configuration ...

  api:
    profiles: ["api", "backend"]
    # ... service configuration ...

  db:
    profiles: ["db", "backend"]
    # ... service configuration ...

  redis:
    profiles: ["cache", "backend"]
    # ... service configuration ...

Advanced Features

Include Directive

# base.yml
services:
  base:
    image: nginx:alpine
    volumes:
      - ./nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf

# docker-compose.yml
include:
  - base.yml

services:
  web:
    extends:
      file: base.yml
      service: base
    environment:
      - VIRTUAL_HOST=example.com

Dependency Management

# docker-compose.yml
services:
  app:
    build: .
    depends_on:
      db:
        condition: service_healthy
        restart: true
      redis:
        condition: service_started
      migration:
        condition: service_completed_successfully

  migration:
    image: flyway
    command: migrate
    depends_on:
      db:
        condition: service_healthy

Development Workflows

Multi-Environment Setup

# docker-compose.yml
services:
  web:
    build:
      context: .
      target: ${TARGET:-development}
    volumes:
      - .:/app
      - /app/node_modules
    environment:
      - NODE_ENV=${NODE_ENV:-development}
    command: ${COMMAND:-npm run dev}
    profiles:
      - dev
      - prod

# docker-compose.override.yml
services:
  web:
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    volumes:
      - .:/app:cached
    environment:
      - DEBUG=true

Testing Configuration

Performance Optimization

Resource Management

# docker-compose.yml
services:
  app:
    deploy:
      resources:
        limits:
          cpus: '0.50'
          memory: 512M
        reservations:
          cpus: '0.25'
          memory: 256M
      restart_policy:
        condition: on-failure
        delay: 5s
        max_attempts: 3
        window: 120s

Network Configuration

# docker-compose.yml
services:
  app:
    networks:
      frontend:
        ipv4_address: 172.16.238.10
      backend:
        aliases:
          - api.internal

networks:
  frontend:
    driver: bridge
    enable_ipv6: true
    ipam:
      driver: default
      config:
        - subnet: 172.16.238.0/24
  backend:
    driver: overlay
    internal: true

Security Implementation

Secrets Management

# docker-compose.yml
services:
  web:
    secrets:
      - db_password
      - ssl_cert
    environment:
      - DB_PASSWORD_FILE=/run/secrets/db_password

secrets:
  db_password:
    file: ./secrets/db_password.txt
  ssl_cert:
    file: ./secrets/ssl_cert.pem

Security Options

Monitoring and Logging

Logging Configuration

# docker-compose.yml
services:
  app:
    logging:
      driver: "json-file"
      options:
        max-size: "10m"
        max-file: "3"
        labels: "production"
        env: "os,customer"
    labels:
      com.example.description: "Web application"
      com.example.environment: "production"

Health Checks

services:
  web:
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:3000/health"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 3
      start_period: 40s

Best Practices

Project Structure

project/
├── docker-compose.yml          # Base configuration
├── docker-compose.override.yml # Development overrides
├── docker-compose.prod.yml     # Production settings
├── .env                        # Environment variables
├── services/
│   ├── web/
│   │   ├── Dockerfile
│   │   └── src/
│   └── api/
│       ├── Dockerfile
│       └── src/
└── config/
    ├── nginx/
    └── postgres/

Configuration Management

Troubleshooting Guide

Common Issues

References

1. Docker Compose Documentation
2. Compose Specification
3. Docker Compose Best Practices
4. Networking Guide
5. Security Guidelines
6. Resource Management

Related Posts

• Docker Desktop Alternatives - Development environment
• Docker Security Scanning - Security tools
• Docker Multi-stage Builds - Build optimization
• Docker Kubernetes Integration - Container orchestration