Deploy Docker Compose on Nodion

Deploy Docker Compose step by step

1. Check your compose file Nodion reads docker-compose.yml, docker-compose.yaml, compose.yml or compose.yaml, taking the one closest to the repository root. It needs at least one app service next to the databases and caches; a file with only databases and caches is ignored. docker-compose.yml

   services:
     web:
       build: .
       environment:
         DATABASE_URL: postgres://app:app@db:5432/app
         REDIS_URL: redis://cache:6379
     db:
       image: postgres:17
     cache:
       image: valkey/valkey:8

2. Choose Docker Compose when you create the app Create an application from your repository in the region EU Central. When the scan finds a usable compose file, a Docker Compose option appears; it is never preselected. Pick it and review the plan: before you create, you can still pick size and instances per process and adjust volume sizes.
3. See what becomes a managed service Nodion goes by the image name: postgres and postgis become Managed PostgreSQL, pgvector becomes pgvector, redis and valkey become Valkey, mysql and mariadb become MySQL, clickhouse becomes ClickHouse and minio becomes a bucket. Every other service runs its image as a process of the one app. The image tag does not pick the database version, and users and passwords come from Nodion. Managed PostgreSQL has no PostGIS extension, so an app that needs PostGIS loses its spatial functions after the import; leave such a database out of the compose file.
4. Check the connection variables A variable of the app service that points at another service by name, like @db:5432 above, becomes an attachment: Nodion injects the real address on deploy. Otherwise databases arrive as DATABASE_URL and Valkey as REDIS_URL. Only the main app service's other variables are copied, and values that look like secrets are marked secret.
5. Manage the app in the dashboard from then on The first deploy waits until the databases are ready. After that the compose file is no longer read: each push builds the app with the Dockerfile or buildpacks strategy found in the same repository, and you change processes, variables and sizes in the dashboard.

Good to know

• Experimental and one-timeThe import is a shortcut for the first setup, not a Compose runtime. If your file does not map cleanly, build the same setup by hand: one app, a database attached on the Environment tab and extra processes on the Processes tab.
• What Nodion ignoresNetworks, profiles, Compose healthchecks, depends_on as a start order, deploy.replicas, bind mounts and anonymous volumes. A second service with its own build: shares the one app image.
• VolumesNamed volumes become Nodion volumes, 5 GB by default and editable in the plan, mounted on the processes that use them.

What Nodion runs for you

• Deploys without downtime Push to your branch and Nodion builds a new release. Traffic switches once the new instances answer their health check; a failed release leaves the running one in place. Apps with a local volume restart instead, because the disk belongs to one instance.
• Databases next to the app Managed PostgreSQL, pgvector, MySQL, Valkey and ClickHouse in the same region. Attached databases arrive as DATABASE_URL, REDIS_URL or CLICKHOUSE_URL.
• Previews per pull request Turn on previews and pull requests from your repository get their own app with its own URL and fresh, empty databases, created automatically or by hand. Forks and bot pull requests are skipped.
• Workers, cron jobs and scaling Run workers as extra processes of the same app, schedule jobs on the Cron tab, and scale every process to up to 16 instances.
• Release step With buildpacks, a Procfile release: line runs with every new build. Dockerfile apps, and redeploys or rollbacks to an earlier image, use a release command set on the app itself, which also takes precedence over the Procfile line. On static sites a release step runs in an image that holds only the built files.
• Logs and metrics Build, release and runtime logs plus CPU, memory, disk and network metrics for every instance in the dashboard.
• Domains and HTTPS A default hostname with HTTPS from the first deploy; your own domains get certificates automatically.

Further reading

• Dockerfile vs Buildpacks: Which One Should You Use? Both turn your code into a container image. What differs is who writes the build steps, and that decides control, maintenance and security updates.
• Railway Alternatives in Europe: 5 Options Compared Containers and databases billed by usage, with a company or region in the EU: five Railway alternatives compared by billing, databases and location.

Docker Compose on Nodion: questions and answers