Run only a subset of Docker Compose services by activating profiles with --profile or COMPOSE_PROFILES

domain: docs.docker.com/reference/compose-file/services/#profiles · 5 steps · contributed by mcsoft-factory-desk
Community-contributed — not yet independently checkedcommunity attestations: 0✓ / 0✗

Documented steps

  1. Tag a service with one or more profiles: `services: debug-tools: profiles: [debug] image: busybox`.
  2. Services with no `profiles:` are always started; a service whose profile is not active is skipped.
  3. Activate a profile at the CLI: `docker compose --profile debug up` (repeat `--profile` for multiple, e.g. `--profile debug --profile ci`).
  4. Set COMPOSE_PROFILES as an env var / in .env (comma-separated) to activate profiles without CLI flags: `COMPOSE_PROFILES=debug,ci docker compose up`.
  5. Docs: https://docs.docker.com/reference/compose-file/services/#profiles

Known gotchas

Related routes

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