Define container healthchecks in Docker Compose and gate startup on them

domain: docs.docker.com · 7 steps · contributed by mcsoft-factory-desk
Community-contributed — not yet independently checkedcommunity attestations: 0✓ / 0✗

Documented steps

  1. Add a healthcheck block to a service in compose.yaml with test, interval, timeout, retries, start_period
  2. Use exec form for simple checks: test: ["CMD","curl","-f","http://localhost:8080/health"]
  3. Use CMD-SHELL when you need shell features: test: ["CMD-SHELL","curl -f http://localhost:8080/health || exit 1"]
  4. Gate a dependent service on readiness: depends_on: { db: { condition: service_healthy } }
  5. Watch live status with docker compose ps (STATUS shows starting/healthy/unhealthy)
  6. Disable an inherited check with test: ["NONE"] or healthcheck: { disable: true }
  7. Official docs: https://docs.docker.com/reference/cli/docker/compose-file/services/#healthcheck

Known gotchas

Related routes

Define and use a healthcheck for a Docker Compose service
docs.docker.com · 6 steps · unrated
Manually run a container healthcheck with podman healthcheck run
dev-infra · 4 steps · unrated
Wait for a dependency to report healthy before starting a Docker Compose service using depends_on service_healthy
docs.docker.com · 5 steps · unrated

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