Docker Compose Examples for Node.js Apps (2025)

Docker Compose transforms local development for Node.js applications. Instead of installing and managing PostgreSQL, Redis, and other services locally, you define everything in a docker-compose.yml and run docker compose up. Everyone on the team gets an identical environment.

This guide covers practical Docker Compose setups for Node.js — from a minimal single-container dev setup to production-ready multi-service configurations.

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Prerequisites

Make sure you have Docker and Docker Compose installed:

# Check versions
docker --version        # Docker 24.x+
docker compose version  # Docker Compose 2.x+

Docker Desktop (macOS/Windows) includes both. On Linux, install Docker Engine and the Compose plugin separately.

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1. Minimal Node.js Setup

Start simple: a single containerized Node.js app.

Project structure:

my-app/
├── src/
│   └── index.js
├── package.json
├── Dockerfile
└── docker-compose.yml

Dockerfile:

FROM node:20-alpine

WORKDIR /app

COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm ci --only=production

COPY . .

EXPOSE 3000
CMD ["node", "src/index.js"]

docker-compose.yml:

services:
  app:
    build: .
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    environment:
      NODE_ENV: production

Run it:

docker compose up --build

This builds the image and starts the container. Visit http://localhost:3000.

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2. Node.js + PostgreSQL

The most common full-stack setup.

docker-compose.yml:

services:
  app:
    build: .
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    environment:
      NODE_ENV: development
      DATABASE_URL: postgresql://postgres:password@db:5432/myapp
    depends_on:
      db:
        condition: service_healthy
    volumes:
      - ./src:/app/src  # hot reload
    command: npm run dev

  db:
    image: postgres:16-alpine
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: myapp
      POSTGRES_USER: postgres
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: password
    volumes:
      - postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
      - ./db/init.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/init.sql  # seed data
    ports:
      - "5432:5432"  # expose for local DB clients (TablePlus, pgAdmin)
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U postgres"]
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5

volumes:
  postgres_data:

Key points:

• depends_on with service_healthy waits for Postgres to be ready before starting the app — eliminates connection race conditions
• The healthcheck uses pg_isready to verify Postgres is accepting connections
• postgres_data volume persists the database between container restarts
• Port 5432 is exposed so you can connect with TablePlus, pgAdmin, or psql from your host

Connect in Node.js (using pg):

const { Pool } = require('pg');

const pool = new Pool({
  connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL,
});

---

3. Node.js + PostgreSQL + Redis

Add Redis for caching, sessions, or queues.

docker-compose.yml:

services:
  app:
    build: .
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    environment:
      NODE_ENV: development
      DATABASE_URL: postgresql://postgres:password@db:5432/myapp
      REDIS_URL: redis://redis:6379
    depends_on:
      db:
        condition: service_healthy
      redis:
        condition: service_healthy
    volumes:
      - ./src:/app/src
    command: npm run dev

  db:
    image: postgres:16-alpine
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: myapp
      POSTGRES_USER: postgres
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: password
    volumes:
      - postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U postgres"]
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5

  redis:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - redis_data:/data
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "redis-cli", "ping"]
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 3s
      retries: 5
    ports:
      - "6379:6379"

volumes:
  postgres_data:
  redis_data:

Connect Redis in Node.js (using ioredis):

const Redis = require('ioredis');
const redis = new Redis(process.env.REDIS_URL);

// Cache example
async function getCachedUser(id) {
  const cached = await redis.get(`user:${id}`);
  if (cached) return JSON.parse(cached);

  const user = await db.query('SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = $1', [id]);
  await redis.setex(`user:${id}`, 3600, JSON.stringify(user.rows[0]));
  return user.rows[0];
}

---

4. Development with Hot Reload

For a smooth dev experience with instant code updates:

Dockerfile.dev:

FROM node:20-alpine

WORKDIR /app

# Install nodemon globally for hot reload
RUN npm install -g nodemon

COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm install  # include devDependencies for development

EXPOSE 3000
# Default command — override in docker-compose
CMD ["nodemon", "src/index.js"]

docker-compose.dev.yml:

services:
  app:
    build:
      context: .
      dockerfile: Dockerfile.dev
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
      - "9229:9229"  # Node.js debugger port
    environment:
      NODE_ENV: development
      DATABASE_URL: postgresql://postgres:password@db:5432/myapp
    volumes:
      - ./src:/app/src           # sync source code
      - ./package.json:/app/package.json
      - /app/node_modules        # anonymous volume — don't sync host node_modules
    command: nodemon --inspect=0.0.0.0:9229 src/index.js
    depends_on:
      db:
        condition: service_healthy

  db:
    image: postgres:16-alpine
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: myapp
      POSTGRES_USER: postgres
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: password
    volumes:
      - postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U postgres"]
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5

volumes:
  postgres_data:

Run the dev setup:

docker compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml up --build

Critical: The anonymous volume for node_modules

volumes:
  - ./src:/app/src
  - /app/node_modules  # This line is essential

Without /app/node_modules, Docker overwrites the container's node_modules with your host's (which may have different native bindings). The anonymous volume protects it.

---

5. Multi-Stage Build for Production

Separate development and production builds to keep the production image lean:

Dockerfile:

# ---- Dependencies ----
FROM node:20-alpine AS deps
WORKDIR /app
COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm ci --only=production

# ---- Build ----
FROM node:20-alpine AS build
WORKDIR /app
COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm ci
COPY . .
RUN npm run build  # for TypeScript or bundled apps

# ---- Production ----
FROM node:20-alpine AS production
WORKDIR /app

# Security: run as non-root user
RUN addgroup -S appgroup && adduser -S appuser -G appgroup
USER appuser

COPY --from=deps /app/node_modules ./node_modules
COPY --from=build /app/dist ./dist
COPY package.json .

EXPOSE 3000
CMD ["node", "dist/index.js"]

docker-compose.prod.yml:

services:
  app:
    build:
      context: .
      target: production
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    environment:
      NODE_ENV: production
      DATABASE_URL: ${DATABASE_URL}
    depends_on:
      db:
        condition: service_healthy

  db:
    image: postgres:16-alpine
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: ${POSTGRES_DB}
      POSTGRES_USER: ${POSTGRES_USER}
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}
    volumes:
      - postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U ${POSTGRES_USER}"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5

volumes:
  postgres_data:

Use environment files:

# .env.prod
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:strongpassword@db:5432/myapp
POSTGRES_DB=myapp
POSTGRES_USER=user
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=strongpassword

docker compose -f docker-compose.prod.yml --env-file .env.prod up -d

---

6. Node.js + MongoDB

For apps using MongoDB instead of PostgreSQL:

services:
  app:
    build: .
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    environment:
      MONGODB_URI: mongodb://mongo:27017/myapp
    depends_on:
      - mongo

  mongo:
    image: mongo:7
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - mongo_data:/data/db
    ports:
      - "27017:27017"

volumes:
  mongo_data:

---

Useful Docker Compose Commands

# Start all services (build if needed)
docker compose up --build

# Start in detached mode (background)
docker compose up -d

# Stop all services
docker compose down

# Stop and remove volumes (reset databases)
docker compose down -v

# View logs
docker compose logs -f app
docker compose logs -f db

# Run a command in a running container
docker compose exec app sh
docker compose exec db psql -U postgres myapp

# Rebuild only one service
docker compose up --build app

# Scale a service
docker compose up --scale worker=3

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Troubleshooting

"Connection refused" on startup

Your app is starting before the database is ready. Use depends_on with service_healthy and a proper healthcheck.

Changes to node_modules not taking effect

Rebuild the image:

docker compose build --no-cache app

Port already in use

# Find what's using the port
lsof -i :5432
# Or change the host port in docker-compose.yml
ports:
  - "5433:5432"  # host port 5433 maps to container 5432

Database data lost after docker compose down

Named volumes persist by default. Use docker compose down -v only when you want to reset. Check that you're using a named volume (e.g., postgres_data) not an anonymous bind mount.

Environment variables not loading

Docker Compose automatically loads a .env file from the same directory. For other files:

docker compose --env-file .env.local up

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Production Checklist

Before deploying a Docker Compose setup to production:

• [ ] Use a non-root user in your Dockerfile
• [ ] Set restart: unless-stopped on all services
• [ ] Never hardcode passwords — use environment variables or Docker secrets
• [ ] Use named volumes for all persistent data
• [ ] Add healthcheck to all stateful services
• [ ] Use multi-stage builds to minimize image size
• [ ] Pin image versions (postgres:16-alpine, not postgres:latest)
• [ ] Set resource limits for containers

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