How to deploy an app stack with Docker Compose

Deploying an application stack with Docker Compose turns multiple containers into one repeatable project. A single compose.yaml file can define the web tier, the database, the shared network, the persistent storage, and the command that starts the whole stack together.

A practical deployment baseline uses one application service, one data service, a named volume, and an explicit startup dependency. The example below uses Adminer as the web app and MariaDB as the database so the stack remains small while still exercising the parts that matter in a real Compose deployment.

Published ports, passwords, and image tags need deliberate choices before a production rollout. Compose can wait for services to be running or healthy, but it only knows what the file defines, so health checks, secret handling, and application-specific validation still need to be planned explicitly.

1. Create a project directory for the stack.

   $ mkdir app-stack

   The directory name becomes the default Compose project name, so the generated container, network, and volume names inherit the app-stack prefix.

2. Change into the project directory.

   $ cd app-stack

3. Save the Compose definition as compose.yaml.

   services:
     db:
       image: mariadb:11
       restart: unless-stopped
       environment:
         MARIADB_DATABASE: appdb
         MARIADB_USER: appuser
         MARIADB_PASSWORD: change-this-app-password
         MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD: change-this-root-password
       healthcheck:
         test: ["CMD-SHELL", "mariadb-admin ping --host=127.0.0.1 --user=root --password=$$MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD"]
         interval: 10s
         timeout: 5s
         retries: 10
         start_period: 20s
       volumes:
         - db_data:/var/lib/mysql
    
     app:
       image: adminer:4
       restart: unless-stopped
       depends_on:
         db:
           condition: service_healthy
       ports:
         - "8080:8080"
    
   volumes:
     db_data:

   The named volume db_data keeps the database files outside the container lifecycle, and the depends_on condition delays the web service until the database health check passes.

   Replace the example passwords before exposing the stack outside a disposable test host.

   Related: How to use an env file with Docker Compose

4. Validate the Compose file before creating containers.

   $ docker compose config --quiet

   No output means the Compose model parsed successfully.

5. Start the stack in the background and wait for the services to reach their running or healthy state.

   $ docker compose up -d --wait
    Network app-stack_default  Creating
    Network app-stack_default  Created
    Container app-stack-db-1  Creating
    Container app-stack-db-1  Created
    Container app-stack-app-1  Creating
    Container app-stack-app-1  Created
    Container app-stack-db-1  Starting
    Container app-stack-db-1  Started
    Container app-stack-db-1  Waiting
    Container app-stack-db-1  Healthy
    Container app-stack-app-1  Starting
    Container app-stack-app-1  Started
    Container app-stack-app-1  Waiting
    Container app-stack-db-1  Waiting
    Container app-stack-app-1  Healthy
    Container app-stack-db-1  Healthy

   The wait flag implies detached mode and blocks until each service is running or healthy according to the checks defined in the Compose file.

   If host port 8080 is already in use, change the published port in compose.yaml before starting the stack.

6. List the project containers to confirm the service names, state, and published port.

   $ docker compose ps
   NAME            IMAGE        COMMAND                  SERVICE   CREATED          STATUS                    PORTS
   app-stack-app-1 adminer:4    "entrypoint.sh docke…"   app       14 seconds ago   Up 8 seconds              0.0.0.0:8080->8080/tcp, [::]:8080->8080/tcp
   app-stack-db-1  mariadb:11   "docker-entrypoint.s…"   db        14 seconds ago   Up 14 seconds (healthy)   3306/tcp

7. Request the web service over HTTP to confirm that the published app entry point responds.

   $ curl -I -sS http://127.0.0.1:8080
   HTTP/1.1 200 OK
   Host: 127.0.0.1:8080
   Date: Thu, 16 Apr 2026 08:33:49 GMT
   Connection: close
   X-Powered-By: PHP/8.4.20
   Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8
   Cache-Control: no-cache
   X-Frame-Options: deny
   ##### snipped #####

   A successful HTTP response proves that Compose created the network, started the containers, and published the application on the expected host port.