Are you managing a complex application with multiple services that need to be orchestrated using Docker Compose? If so, you might find yourself juggling several Compose files to manage them all. Fortunately, there is a solution: by extending multiple docker-compose files using .env technique or calling multiple configuration files with docker-compose command you can link them together in just one action.
Possibilities and summary of actions
Back in 2019, when Docker Compose version 2 was still in use, I suggested a way to manage complex and inherited Docker Compose structures in response to a question about importing one Docker Compose file into another. This opened up a lot of possibilities and best practices for managing Docker Compose configurations in a modular way. However, for those working with legacy projects or in situations where this approach isn’t possible, I’ll discuss how to make it work.