# docker/compose

Define and run multi-container applications with Docker

Repository: https://github.com/docker/compose
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/compose
Homepage: https://docs.docker.com/compose/
Language: Go
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: docker, docker-compose, orchestration, go, golang
Last push: 2026-08-26T14:01:35+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 99/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 98, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4650, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": 16, "gap_med": 10, "n_releases_24m": 52}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 38065, forks 5793 (observed 2026-08-28T04:12:01.639057+00:00)

## What it is
Docker Compose is a tool for defining and running multi-container Docker applications using the Compose file format (compose.yaml). It lets you start, stop, and manage all services of an application with a single command like `docker compose up`.

## Use cases
- run multi-container docker applications locally
- define app services in a compose.yaml file
- spin up a full dev environment with one command
- orchestrate local microservices for development
- manage dependent services like database and web app together
- reproduce application environments across machines

## When to choose
- you need to run several containers that make up one application
- you want declarative, reproducible local development environments
- you want a single command to start and stop your whole app stack
- you want the standard, widely-supported compose specification tool

## When to avoid
- you need full production container orchestration with scaling and scheduling (use Kubernetes)
- you run a single container only (plain docker run suffices)
- you rely on Docker Swarm-specific legacy compose features

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: stable
- function: container-orchestration, deployment, cli, configuration-management, developer-tools
- domain: developer-tools, backend
- platform: windows, go, cli, cross-platform
- tags: docker-compose, compose-spec, multi-container, local-development, docker-plugin, devops, containers, automation, linux, macos, docker

## Member repositories
- docker/compose (main) score 99

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:12:01.639057+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 2026-08-29T16:25:01.611573+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/docker/compose (fetched 2026-08-28T04:12:01.639057+00:00, sha c99e13c9acd8)
  - homepage: https://docs.docker.com/compose/ (fetched 2026-08-29T07:47:11.078865+00:00, sha ba703483c090)
  - site_page: https://docs.docker.com/ai/sandboxes/integrations/claude-desktop (fetched 2026-08-29T07:47:11.088885+00:00, sha 60ececd493de)
  - site_page: https://docs.docker.com/ai/sandboxes/integrations/chatgpt (fetched 2026-08-29T07:47:11.090592+00:00, sha 8f6dec653358)
  - site_page: https://docs.docker.com/ai/sandboxes/integrations/t3-code (fetched 2026-08-29T07:47:11.092158+00:00, sha fb9f85957f40)
  - site_page: https://docs.docker.com/ai/sandboxes/faq (fetched 2026-08-29T07:47:11.093599+00:00, sha 292801ea55f7)
  - site_page: https://docs.docker.com/ai/sandboxes/install (fetched 2026-08-29T07:47:11.081689+00:00, sha 3055e7b816a0)
  - site_page: https://docs.docker.com/ai/sandboxes/integrations (fetched 2026-08-29T07:47:11.083692+00:00, sha 05f59418049e)
  - site_page: https://docs.docker.com/ai/sandboxes/integrations/vscode (fetched 2026-08-29T07:47:11.085571+00:00, sha 48747553828d)
  - site_page: https://docs.docker.com/ai/sandboxes/integrations/cursor (fetched 2026-08-29T07:47:11.087235+00:00, sha 6373846e0b42)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.