Learn how to use profiles in Docker Compose

Table of contents

With profiles you can define a set of active profiles so your Compose application model is adjusted for various usages and environments.

The services top-level element supports a profiles attribute to define a list of named profiles. Services without a profiles attribute are always enabled.

A service is ignored by Compose when none of the listed profiles match the active ones, unless the service is explicitly targeted by a command. In that case its profile is added to the set of active profiles.

Note

All other top-level elements are not affected by profiles and are always active.

References to other services (by links, extends or shared resource syntax service:xxx) do not automatically enable a component that would otherwise have been ignored by active profiles. Instead Compose returns an error.

Illustrative example

services:
  web:
    image: web_image

  test_lib:
    image: test_lib_image
    profiles:
      - test

  coverage_lib:
    image: coverage_lib_image
    depends_on:
      - test_lib
    profiles:
      - test

  debug_lib:
    image: debug_lib_image
    depends_on:
      - test_lib
    profiles:
      - debug

In the above example:

  • If the Compose application model is parsed when no profile is enabled, it only contains the web service.
  • If the profile test is enabled, the model contains the services test_lib and coverage_lib, and service web, which is always enabled.
  • If the profile debug is enabled, the model contains both web and debug_lib services, but not test_lib and coverage_lib, and as such the model is invalid regarding the depends_on constraint of debug_lib.
  • If the profiles debug and test are enabled, the model contains all services; web, test_lib, coverage_lib and debug_lib.
  • If Compose is executed with test_lib as the explicit service to run, test_lib and the test profile are active even if test profile is not enabled.
  • If Compose is executed with coverage_lib as the explicit service to run, the service coverage_lib and the profile test are active and test_lib is pulled in by the depends_on constraint.
  • If Compose is executed with debug_lib as the explicit service to run, again the model is invalid regarding the depends_on constraint of debug_lib, since debug_lib and test_lib have no common profiles listed.
  • If Compose is executed with debug_lib as the explicit service to run and profile test is enabled, profile debug is automatically enabled and service test_lib is pulled in as a dependency starting both services debug_lib and test_lib.

Learn how to use profiles in Docker Compose.