Docker Compose Templates: Docker Compose Patterns & Best Practices

Docker Compose Patterns & Best Practices A reference guide for production Docker Compose deployments. Covers networking, volumes, health checks, secrets management, resource limits, and multi-service design patterns. Table of Contents Networking Patterns Volume Management Health Checks Environment Variables & Secrets Resource Limits Multi-Service Patterns Reverse Proxy with Traefik Logging Startup Order & Dependencies Production Checklist Networking Patterns Isolated Stack Networks Each Compose stack should define its own bridge network. Services within the same network can reach each other by container name. Services in different stacks are isolated by default. services: app: networks: - backend db: networks: - backend networks: backend: driver: bridge Shared Networks for Cross-Stack Communication When two stacks need to talk (e.g., an app stack reaching a shared database), use an external network: # In the database stack networks: shared-db: name: shared-db driver: bridge