# compose-spec/compose-spec

The Compose specification

Repository: https://github.com/compose-spec/compose-spec
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/compose-spec
Homepage: https://compose-spec.io
Language: Dockerfile
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: compose, docker, kubernetes, containers, specification
Last push: 2026-08-17T06:26:21+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 76/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 98, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2458, "days_push": 16, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2722, forks 782 (observed 2026-08-28T04:07:15.597086+00:00)

## What it is
The Compose Specification is a vendor-neutral standard that defines multi-container, platform-agnostic container-based applications in a single YAML file. This repository hosts the specification document and schema that implementations such as Docker Compose (the reference implementation), Kompose, Nerdctl, and Podman Compose build upon.

## Use cases
- define a multi-container docker application in a single standard yaml file
- write compose files that work across docker compose, podman compose, and nerdctl
- convert compose files into kubernetes manifests with kompose
- validate a docker-compose.yml against the official schema
- make container app definitions portable between local development and cloud providers
- find the canonical spec for container application configuration

## When to choose
- you want one YAML application definition usable for local development and cloud deployment without vendor lock-in
- you are building a tool that parses, generates, or validates Compose files and need to conform to the standard
- you want a simpler alternative to raw Kubernetes YAML for defining containerized services

## When to avoid
- you need the full expressiveness of the Kubernetes API, networking policies, or operators - use native Kubernetes manifests or Helm charts instead
- you want an executable tool to run containers - this is a specification document, so use Docker Compose or another implementation
- your workflow is a single container where a plain Dockerfile and docker run are sufficient

## Facets
- artifact type: infra-config
- maturity: stable
- function: infrastructure-as-code, container-orchestration, configuration-management, developer-tools, yaml, deployment
- domain: cloud-computing, microservices, developer-tools, infrastructure-as-code
- platform: cloud
- tags: compose, docker-compose, specification, containers, multi-container-applications, yaml-schema, portability, standard, kompose, podman-compose, devops, docker, kubernetes

## Member repositories
- compose-spec/compose-spec (main) score 76

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:15.597086+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T02:15:08.736781+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/compose-spec/compose-spec (fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:15.597086+00:00, sha b5a429666c48)
  - homepage: https://compose-spec.io (fetched 2026-08-29T09:58:03.489816+00:00, sha 5e7097f1f657)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.