Docker Compose container orchestration and management. Manage multi-container applications, services, networks, and volumes. Use for local development, testing, and orchestration of containerized applications.
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Docker Compose container orchestration and management. Manage multi-container applications, services, networks, and volumes. Use for local development, testing, and orchestration of containerized applications.
version
1
model
sonnet
invoked_by
both
user_invocable
true
tools
["Bash","Read","Glob"]
best_practices
["Verify docker-compose.yml exists before operations","Use project names for isolation","Check service status before destructive operations","Avoid volume removal without confirmation","Review logs before restarting failed services"]
YAML: Use named volumes for DBs (postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data). Use healthchecks (healthcheck: with test, interval, timeout, retries). One network default; reference services by name (e.g. http://api:3000). Use env_file or environment; keep secrets in secrets:.
Hacks:-f compose.yaml -f override.yaml merges files (later overrides). Use --project-name for isolation. Prefer build: context: . dockerfile: Dockerfile for dev; pin image tags in prod. Run docker compose config before up to catch errors.
Suggested hooks: Pre-up: docker compose config (validate). Post-down: optional cleanup. Use when devops or devops-troubleshooter is routed.
Workflows: Use with devops (primary), devops-troubleshooter (primary). Flow: validate compose → up/down/exec per task. See operations/incident-response for container debugging.
Overview
This skill provides comprehensive Docker Compose management, enabling AI agents to orchestrate multi-container applications, manage services, inspect logs, and troubleshoot containerized environments with progressive disclosure for optimal context usage.
# 1. Check container status
docker compose ps --all
# 2. View service logs
docker compose logs --tail 200 failing-service
# 3. Inspect running processes
docker compose top failing-service
# 4. Check configuration
docker compose config
# 5. Restart the service
docker compose restart failing-service
# 6. If needed, recreate container
docker compose up -d --force-recreate failing-service
Update Service Images
# 1. Pull latest images
docker compose pull
# 2. Stop services
docker compose down
# 3. Rebuild if using custom Dockerfiles
docker compose build --pull
# 4. Start with new images
docker compose up -d
# 5. Verify services
docker compose ps
Debug Service Connectivity
# 1. Check running services
docker compose ps
# 2. Inspect port mappings
docker compose port web 80
docker compose port api 3000
# 3. Exec into container
docker compose exec web sh
# 4. Test connectivity (from inside container)
docker compose exec web curl api:3000/health
# 5. Check logs for errors
docker compose logs web api
Clean Up Environment
# 1. Stop all services
docker compose down
# 2. Remove orphaned containers
docker compose down --remove-orphans
# 3. View images
docker compose images
# 4. Clean up (manual - volume removal BLOCKED)# Volumes require manual cleanup with explicit confirmation
The skill uses progressive disclosure to minimize context usage:
Initial Load: Only metadata and tool names (~700 tokens)
Tool Invocation: Specific tool schema loaded on-demand (~100-150 tokens)
Result Streaming: Large outputs (logs) streamed incrementally
Context Cleanup: Old results cleared after use
Context Optimization:
Use --tail to limit log output
Use service filters to target specific containers
Prefer ps over ps --all for active services only
Use --since for time-bounded log queries
Troubleshooting
Skill Issues
Docker Compose not found:
# Check Docker Compose version
docker compose version
# If using V1, try:
docker-compose version
# Update to V2 (recommended)# Docker Compose V2 is integrated into Docker CLI
Permission denied:
# Add user to docker group (Linux)sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
newgrp docker
# Verify permissions
docker ps
