Docker Compose for production

Topic: Containers core

Use Compose in production with limits, restarts, health checks, and secrets. Prefer orchestrators at scale. Use when running a small set of services on one or few hosts.

Intent: How-to

Quick answer

  • Set deploy.resources.limits and restart. Add healthcheck. Use env_file or secrets.
  • Pin image tags. Run behind reverse proxy with TLS.
  • Log to stdout. Back up volumes. Consider Kubernetes for multi-node.

Prerequisites

Steps

  1. Limits and restart

    Set memory and CPU limits. Set restart policy. Add healthcheck.

  2. Images and proxy

    Pin image tags. Put behind reverse proxy with TLS. Use secrets for credentials.

  3. Logging and backup

    Log to stdout. Back up volumes. Test restore.

Summary

Use limits, restarts, health checks, secrets. Pin tags. Proxy and backup.

Prerequisites

Steps

Step 1: Limits and restart

Set resource limits and restart; add healthcheck.

Step 2: Images and proxy

Pin tags; reverse proxy with TLS; secrets.

Step 3: Logging and backup

Stdout logging; back up volumes; test restore.

Verification

  • Limits and restart work; TLS and secrets in place; backup tested.

Troubleshooting

No restart — Set restart policy. Secrets in image — Use env or mount at runtime.

Next steps

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