A client-side tool manages another system by sending instructions through an API. Docker Compose reads a Compose YAML file and sends commands to the Docker API; Docker runs the containers but does not understand their application-wide structure. section 7.2
Using Compose as a client involves:
- Keeping the Compose YAML file available, because it defines the services and relationships Compose manages. section 7.2
- Running commands such as up, stop, start, down, and logs to operate the multi-container application. section 7.2
- Recognizing that manual changes, such as scaling a service, can disappear when the application is recreated from the YAML definition. section 7.2
Recreate the declared application
Run docker compose down, then docker compose up -d and docker container ls. Compose removes the application and recreates its services according to the Compose file, restoring the declared scale.
