{"id":7681,"date":"2020-02-20T17:08:23","date_gmt":"2020-02-20T14:08:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unihost.com\/help\/?p=7681"},"modified":"2026-08-11T12:37:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T09:37:05","slug":"how-to-install-and-use-docker-compose-on-centos-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unihost.com\/help\/how-to-install-and-use-docker-compose-on-centos-8\/","title":{"rendered":"How to install Docker Compose on CentOS 8"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

⚠<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Two updates since the original article: (1) CentOS 8 reached end-of-life on 31 December 2021 – use AlmaLinux 9, Rocky Linux 9, or CentOS Stream. (2) Docker Compose v1 (the docker-compose command) is deprecated. Compose v2 is now a Docker plugin, run as docker compose (with a space). The steps below use the current approach.<\/span>
\n<\/strong>\n<\/div>\n

Docker Compose lets you define and run multi-container applications from a single YAML file – one command brings up your whole stack (app, database, cache) with the right networks and volumes. Compose is now built into Docker as a plugin (v2), so you install it alongside Docker itself. Here is the current setup for AlmaLinux 9, Rocky Linux 9, and CentOS Stream.<\/span><\/p>\n

Step 1: Add the Docker Repository<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
sudo dnf install -y dnf-plugins-core<\/span>\r\nsudo dnf config-manager --add-repo \\<\/span>\r\n\u00a0\u00a0https:\/\/download.docker.com\/linux\/centos\/docker-ce.repo<\/span><\/pre>\n
Step 2: Install Docker and the Compose Plugin<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
The docker-compose-plugin package provides Compose v2:<\/span><\/p>\n
sudo dnf install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io \\<\/span>\r\n\u00a0\u00a0docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin<\/span><\/pre>\n
Step 3: Start Docker and Verify<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
sudo systemctl enable --now docker<\/span>\r\ndocker --version<\/span>\r\ndocker compose version<\/span><\/pre>\n
Note the command is docker compose (with a space) for v2, not the old docker-compose. To run Docker without sudo, add your user to the docker group: sudo usermod -aG docker $USER, then log out and back in.<\/span><\/p>\n
Step 4: A Sample docker-compose.yml<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
Create a file named docker-compose.yml – here’s a simple WordPress + MySQL stack:<\/span><\/p>\n
services:<\/span>\r\n\u00a0\u00a0db:<\/span>\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0image: mysql:8.0<\/span>\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0environment:<\/span>\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: change_me<\/span>\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0MYSQL_DATABASE: wordpress<\/span>\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0volumes:<\/span>\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0- db_data:\/var\/lib\/mysql<\/span>\r\n\u00a0\u00a0wordpress:<\/span>\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0image: wordpress:latest<\/span>\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0depends_on:<\/span>\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0- db<\/span>\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0ports:<\/span>\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0- \"8080:80\"<\/span>\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0environment:<\/span>\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0WORDPRESS_DB_HOST: db<\/span>\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0WORDPRESS_DB_NAME: wordpress<\/span>\r\nvolumes:<\/span>\r\n\u00a0\u00a0db_data:<\/span><\/pre>\n
Step 5: Key Compose Commands<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
docker compose up -d \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 # start the stack in the background<\/span>\r\ndocker compose ps\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 # list running services<\/span>\r\ndocker compose logs -f \u00a0 \u00a0 # follow logs<\/span>\r\ndocker compose down\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 # stop and remove containers<\/span>\r\ndocker compose pull\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 # update images<\/span><\/pre>\n
The modern Compose file no longer needs the version: line that older tutorials show – Compose v2 ignores it. Docker Compose runs well on any VPS or dedicated server; for production stacks, NVMe storage and guaranteed RAM make a noticeable difference.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
⚠ Two updates since the original article: (1) CentOS 8 reached end-of-life on 31 December 2021 – use AlmaLinux 9, Rocky Linux 9, or CentOS Stream. (2) Docker Compose v1 (the docker-compose command) is deprecated. Compose v2 is now a Docker plugin, run as docker compose (with a space). The steps below use the current […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[158],"tags":[457,596,520,994,1072,502],"class_list":["post-7681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dedicated-servers","tag-centos-2","tag-cloud-vps","tag-dedicated-servers","tag-docker-2","tag-openclaw","tag-server-management"],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Install Docker Compose (v2) on CentOS, AlmaLinux & Rocky<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Install Docker Compose v2 on modern RHEL-family systems (AlmaLinux 9, Rocky Linux 9, CentOS Stream). 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