Docker Compose for Self-Hosting

Docker Compose describes a multi-container app in one compose.yaml and brings it up with a single command — the backbone of most self-hosted setups.

#A minimal stack

services:
  app:
    image: ghcr.io/example/app:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      DB_HOST: db
    env_file: .env            # secrets here (see Secrets Management)
    depends_on: [db]
    ports: ["127.0.0.1:8080:8080"]
  db:
    image: mariadb:11
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes: ["dbdata:/var/lib/mysql"]
    environment:
      MARIADB_DATABASE: app
volumes:
  dbdata:

docker compose up -d        # start in background
docker compose logs -f app  # tail logs
docker compose pull && docker compose up -d   # update

#Good habits

Harden the containers too — see Container and Docker Security.

Related: Reverse Proxy with Caddy and Nginx · Container and Docker Security · Database Backups and Replication