Docker Compose defines and runs multi-container applications with a YAML file. One command ( docker compose up ) starts all services with their networks, volumes, and dependencies.

Common use: local development environments with a web server, database, and cache defined together. depends_on sets start order; healthcheck waits until a service is ready. In production, Kubernetes replaces Compose - Compose is not designed for production orchestration (no auto-scaling, rolling deploys, or self-healing). Compose v3 syntax is shared with Docker Swarm for simple production deployments.