Compose Basics in Docker
From the Docker cheat sheet · Docker Compose · verified Jul 2026
Compose Basics
Essential Docker Compose commands for multi-container applications
bash
# Start services
docker compose up
docker compose up -d # Detached
docker compose up --build # Rebuild
# Stop services
docker compose down
docker compose down -v # Remove volumes
docker compose stop
# Logs and status
docker compose ps
docker compose logs
docker compose logs -f service
# Execute commands
docker compose exec service bash
docker compose run service command💡 Use -d for background operation
⚡ --scale for horizontal scaling
📌 -f to specify custom compose files
✅ Always use down -v to clean volumes