Docker-compose is a powerful tool for creating and managing Docker containers. This tool allows you to create, run and manage many containers, interacting with each other. In this article, we will look at a few commands that can be useful when working with Docker-compose.
So let's get started.
Commands for managing containers:
- docker-compose up: to start all containers defined in the docker-compose.yml file. For example, the command "docker-compose up" will start all containers from the docker-compose.yml file in the current directory.
- docker-compose down: to stop and remove all containers defined in the docker-compose.yml file. For example, the "docker-compose down" command will stop and remove all containers that were started using the docker-compose.yml file.
Commands for managing services:
- docker-compose ps: to display a list of running containers and their statuses. For example, the "docker-compose ps" command will show all running containers from the docker-compose.yml file.
- docker-compose up -d [SERVICE]: to start a specific service from the docker-compose.yml file. For example, the command "docker-compose up nextcloud" will only start the nextcloud container from the docker-compose.yml file that was stopped.
Commands for managing images:
docker-compose pull: to download all the images defined in the docker-compose.yml file. For example, the "docker-compose pull" command will download all the images specified in the docker-compose.yml file.
docker-compose build: to build the images defined in the docker-compose.yml file. For example, the "docker-compose build" command will build all the images specified in the docker-compose.yml file.
Commands for managing logs:
docker-compose logs: to view the logs of all containers defined in the docker-compose.yml file. For example, the command "docker-compose logs" will output the logs of all containers from the docker-compose.yml file.
docker-compose logs [SERVICE]: to view the logs of a specific service from the docker-compose.yml file. For example, the command "docker-compose logs nextcloud_db" will output only the database container logs from the docker-compose.yml file.
Commands for managing containers at work:
docker-compose stop: to stop all containers defined in the docker-compose.yml file, but without removing them. For example, the "docker-compose stop" command will stop all containers in the docker-compose.yml file.
docker-compose start: to start all stopped containers defined in the docker-compose.yml file. For example, the "docker-compose start" command will start all stopped containers from the docker-compose.yml file.
docker-compose up --force-recreate forces Docker Compose to recreate containers even if their configuration or image hasn't changed. This means that Compose will stop and remove existing containers for the services specified in the docker-compose.yml file, and then create new containers from scratch using the latest version of the images defined in the file. Using the --force-recreate option is useful in situations where you have made changes to the docker-compose.yml file that affect container configuration, such as environment variables or port mapping.
Commands for managing networks:
- docker-compose network ls: to list the networks defined in the docker-compose.yml file, if any. You can also use the docker network ls command.
- docker-compose network create [NETWORK]: to create a new network in the docker-compose.yml file. For example, the command "docker-compose network create frontend" will create a new network called frontend in the docker-compose.yml file.
- docker-compose network rm [NETWORK]: To remove the network defined in the docker-compose.yml file. For example, the command "docker-compose network rm frontend" will remove the network called frontend from the docker-compose.yml file.
Commands for managing environment variables:
- docker-compose config: to validate the docker-compose.yml file and display all environment variables defined in it. For example, the "docker-compose config" command will validate the docker-compose.yml file and show all the environment variables defined in it.
- docker-compose exec [SERVICE] [COMMAND]: to execute a command inside the container defined in the docker-compose.yml file. For example, the command "docker-compose exec nextcloud ls" will execute the "ls" command inside the nextcloud container, which is defined in the docker-compose.yml file.
Commands for managing volumes:
docker-compose volume ls: to list all volumes defined in the docker-compose.yml file. For example, the command "docker-compose volume ls" or "docker volume ls" will show all the volumes that are defined in the docker-compose.yml file.
docker-compose volume create [VOLUME]: to create a new volume defined in the docker-compose.yml file. For example, the command "docker-compose volume create db_data" will create a new volume called db_data in the docker-compose.yml file.
docker-compose volume rm [VOLUME]: to remove the volume defined in the docker-compose.yml file. For example, the command "docker-compose volume rm db_data" will remove the volume named db_data from the docker-compose.yml file.
In this article, we covered the basic commands for working with Docker Compose, such as starting and stopping containers, creating networks and volumes, and managing volumes. Getting familiar with these commands will help you use Docker Compose more effectively when developing and deploying applications in containers.