Chapter 7: Docker Volumes, Networks and Compose

7.8b Compose project layout for badge API

By Ravindra Bagale · Last updated: 1 October 2026

Keep the Compose file next to the Dockerfile so build: . is obvious:

badge-api/
  Dockerfile
  .dockerignore
  .env.example
  .env # gitignored
  compose.yaml
  app.py / index.js
  requirements.txt / package.json

Profiles (awareness). Compose profiles can mark optional services (for example a debug Redis). Skip advanced profiles until the basic api+db stack is boringly reliable.

Restart policies.

services:
  api:
    restart: unless-stopped

Useful on a lab VM that reboots — still not a substitute for a real orchestrator (Kubernetes comes later).

Override files. compose.override.yaml can hold laptop-only bind mounts. Do not commit machine-specific absolute paths that only work on one classmate's laptop.

What you see in a tidy repo: docker compose config prints the merged YAML without errors; secrets stay out of that printout if you used env substitution carefully.