---
title: Using profiles with Compose
desription: How to use profiles with Docker Compose
keywords: cli, compose, profile, profiles reference
---

{{< include "compose/profiles.md" >}}

## Assigning profiles to services

Services are associated with profiles through the
[`profiles` attribute](compose-file/05-services.md#profiles) which takes an
array of profile names:

```yaml
services:
  frontend:
    image: frontend
    profiles: [frontend]

  phpmyadmin:
    image: phpmyadmin
    depends_on: [db]
    profiles: [debug]

  backend:
    image: backend

  db:
    image: mysql
```

Here the services `frontend` and `phpmyadmin` are assigned to the profiles
`frontend` and `debug` respectively and as such are only started when their
respective profiles are enabled.

Services without a `profiles` attribute are always enabled. In this
case running `docker compose up` would only start `backend` and `db`.

Valid profiles names follow the regex format of `[a-zA-Z0-9][a-zA-Z0-9_.-]+`.

> **Tip**
>
> The core services of your application shouldn't be assigned `profiles` so
> they are always enabled and automatically started.
{ .tip }

## Start specific profiles

To start a specific profile supply the `--profile` [command-line option](reference/index.md) or
use the [`COMPOSE_PROFILES` environment variable](environment-variables/envvars.md#compose_profiles):

```console
$ docker compose --profile debug up
```
```console
$ COMPOSE_PROFILES=debug docker compose up
```

The above commands would both start your application with the `debug` profile enabled.
In the example, `compose.yml` file above, this starts the services `backend`,
`db` and `phpmyadmin`.

### Start multiple profiles

You can also enable
multiple profiles, e.g. with `docker compose --profile frontend --profile debug up`
the profiles `frontend` and `debug` will be enabled.

Multiple profiles can be specified by passing multiple `--profile` flags or
a comma-separated list for the `COMPOSE_PROFILES` environment variable:

```console
$ docker compose --profile frontend --profile debug up
```

```console
$ COMPOSE_PROFILES=frontend,debug docker compose up
```

If you want to enable all profiles at the same time, you can run `docker compose --profile "*"`.

## Auto-starting profiles and dependency resolution

When a service with assigned `profiles` is explicitly targeted on the command
line its profiles are started automatically so you don't need to start them
manually. This can be used for one-off services and debugging tools.
As an example consider the following configuration:

```yaml
services:
  backend:
    image: backend

  db:
    image: mysql

  db-migrations:
    image: backend
    command: myapp migrate
    depends_on:
      - db
    profiles:
      - tools
```

```sh
# Only start backend and db
$ docker compose up -d

# This runs db-migrations (and,if necessary, start db)
# by implicitly enabling the profiles `tools`
$ docker compose run db-migrations
```

But keep in mind that `docker compose` only automatically starts the
profiles of the services on the command line and not of any dependencies. 

This means that any other services the targeted service `depends_on` should either:
- Share a common profile 
- Always be started, by omitting `profiles` or having a matching profile started explicitly

```yaml
services:
  web:
    image: web

  mock-backend:
    image: backend
    profiles: ["dev"]
    depends_on:
      - db

  db:
    image: mysql
    profiles: ["dev"]

  phpmyadmin:
    image: phpmyadmin
    profiles: ["debug"]
    depends_on:
      - db
```

```sh
# Only start "web"
$ docker compose up -d

# Start mock-backend (and, if necessary, db)
# by implicitly enabling profiles `dev`
$ docker compose up -d mock-backend

# This fails because profiles "dev" is not enabled
$ docker compose up phpmyadmin
```

Although targeting `phpmyadmin` automatically starts the profiles `debug`, it doesn't automatically start the profiles required by `db` which is `dev`. 

To fix this you either have to add the `debug` profile to the `db` service:

```yaml
db:
  image: mysql
  profiles: ["debug", "dev"]
```

or start the `dev` profile explicitly:

```console
# Profiles "debug" is started automatically by targeting phpmyadmin
$ docker compose --profile dev up phpmyadmin
$ COMPOSE_PROFILES=dev docker compose up phpmyadmin
```

## Reference information

[`profiles`](compose-file/05-services.md#profiles)
