Docker Compose Profiles — Run Different Services for Dev, Test, and Prod

One Compose File, Multiple Environments Docker Compose profiles let you define which services run in which environment. No more commenting out services. docker-compose.yml services : app : build : . ports : [ " 3000:3000" ] depends_on : [ db ] db : image : postgres:16 environment : POSTGRES_PASSWORD : secret redis : image : redis:7 profiles : [ prod ] mailhog : image : mailhog/mailhog ports : [ " 8025:8025" ] profiles : [ dev ] pgadmin : image : dpage/pgadmin4 ports : [ " 5050:80" ] profiles : [ dev ] prometheus : image : prom/prometheus profiles : [ monitoring ] Usage # Dev (app + db + mailhog + pgadmin) docker compose --profile dev up # Prod (app + db + redis) docker compose --profile prod up # With monitoring docker compose --profile prod --profile monitoring up Why Profiles One file instead of docker-compose.dev.yml + docker-compose.prod.yml No service commenting/uncommenting Clear intent (which services belong where) Combinable (add monitoring to any environment) More