---
description: Key features and use cases of Docker Compose
keywords: documentation, docs, docker, compose, orchestration, containers, uses, features
title: Key features and use cases
---
{% include compose-eol.md %}

Using Compose is essentially a three-step process:

1. Define your app's environment with a `Dockerfile` so it can be reproduced
anywhere.

2. Define the services that make up your app in `docker-compose.yml`
so they can be run together in an isolated environment.

3. Run `docker compose up` and the Docker compose command starts and runs your entire app. You can alternatively run `docker-compose up` using Compose standalone(`docker-compose` binary).

A `docker-compose.yml` looks like this:

```yaml
version: "{{ site.compose_file_v3 }}"  # optional since v1.27.0
services:
  web:
    build: .
    ports:
      - "8000:5000"
    volumes:
      - .:/code
      - logvolume01:/var/log
    depends_on:
      - redis
  redis:
    image: redis
volumes:
  logvolume01: {}
```

For more information about the Compose file, see the
[Compose file reference](compose-file/index.md).

## Key features of Docker Compose

### Have multiple isolated environments on a single host

Compose uses a project name to isolate environments from each other. You can make use of this project name in several different contexts:

* on a dev host, to create multiple copies of a single environment, such as when you want to run a stable copy for each feature branch of a project
* on a CI server, to keep builds from interfering with each other, you can set
  the project name to a unique build number
* on a shared host or dev host, to prevent different projects, which may use the
  same service names, from interfering with each other

The default project name is the basename of the project directory. You can set
a custom project name by using the
[`-p` command line option](reference/index.md) or the
[`COMPOSE_PROJECT_NAME` environment variable](environment-variables/envvars.md#compose_project_name).

The default project directory is the base directory of the Compose file. A custom value
for it can be defined with the `--project-directory` command line option.


### Preserves volume data when containers are created

Compose preserves all volumes used by your services. When `docker compose up`
runs, if it finds any containers from previous runs, it copies the volumes from
the old container to the new container. This process ensures that any data
you've created in volumes isn't lost.

If you use `docker compose` on a Windows machine, see
[Environment variables](environment-variables/envvars.md) and adjust the necessary environment
variables for your specific needs.


### Only recreate containers that have changed

Compose caches the configuration used to create a container. When you
restart a service that has not changed, Compose re-uses the existing
containers. Re-using containers means that you can make changes to your
environment very quickly.


### Supports variables and moving a composition between environments

Compose supports variables in the Compose file. You can use these variables
to customize your composition for different environments, or different users.
See [Variable substitution](compose-file/compose-file-v3.md#variable-substitution) for more
details.

You can extend a Compose file using the `extends` field or by creating multiple
Compose files. See [extends](extends.md) for more details.

## Common use cases of Docker Compose

Compose can be used in many different ways. Some common use cases are outlined
below.

### Development environments

When you're developing software, the ability to run an application in an
isolated environment and interact with it is crucial. The Compose command
line tool can be used to create the environment and interact with it.

The [Compose file](compose-file/index.md) provides a way to document and configure
all of the application's service dependencies (databases, queues, caches,
web service APIs, etc). Using the Compose command line tool you can create
and start one or more containers for each dependency with a single command
(`docker compose up`).

Together, these features provide a convenient way for developers to get
started on a project. Compose can reduce a multi-page "developer getting
started guide" to a single machine readable Compose file and a few commands.

### Automated testing environments

An important part of any Continuous Deployment or Continuous Integration process
is the automated test suite. Automated end-to-end testing requires an
environment in which to run tests. Compose provides a convenient way to create
and destroy isolated testing environments for your test suite. By defining the full environment in a [Compose file](compose-file/index.md), you can create and destroy these environments in just a few commands:

```console
$ docker compose up -d
$ ./run_tests
$ docker compose down
```

### Single host deployments

Compose has traditionally been focused on development and testing workflows,
but with each release we're making progress on more production-oriented features.

For details on using production-oriented features, see
[compose in production](production.md) in this documentation.
