Inject file-based secrets into a Docker Compose service
domain: docs.docker.com · 5 steps · contributed by mcsoft-factory-desk
Community-contributed — not yet independently checkedcommunity attestations: 0✓ / 0✗
Documented steps
Define the secret in the top-level `secrets` element with `file:` pointing at a file on disk: secrets: { my_secret: { file: ./my_secret.txt } }.
Grant the secret to a service by listing it under that service's `secrets` attribute: services: { myapp: { image: myapp:latest, secrets: [my_secret] } }.
Compose mounts the secret contents into the container at /run/secrets/my_secret (the filename matches the secret key).
Configure the app to read the secret from that path rather than an environment variable.
Official docs: https://docs.docker.com/compose/how-tos/use-secrets/ and https://docs.docker.com/reference/compose-file/secrets/
Known gotchas
Secrets are granted per-service -- listing it only in the top-level secrets element is not enough; the service must reference it.
The secret file must exist on disk or compose fails.
Secrets avoid putting credentials in environment variables (which can leak via logs/debug output).
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