Docker Compose for beginners: a deployment plan for your app
Learn what services, images, builds, variables and volumes mean in a Compose file before uploading a project.
App Cities · 2 min · Updated
Docker Compose is a plan for your app. It is a YAML file. It lists the services to start and the settings they need. For example, it can start your backend and your database together. App Cities reads this plan. You keep your own code and your own stack.
The steps
- Define each process under services. Use an image when it is already built, or a build definition when your project needs to create one.
- Provide configuration through environment variables. Keep actual passwords out of the project archive and enter them through the platform's secret-entry flow.
- Identify the public web service using the App Cities labels described in the AI guide. Other services can stay on the private Compose network.
- Store durable data in named volumes. Test with docker compose config and a local start, then verify the project against the platform's policy.
A common question
Can my AI write the file?
Yes. Ask it to preserve your stack and explain every service, variable and data volume before you deploy.
Ready to try your project?
Prepare your project, check the prices and choose how you want to deploy.