A Smooth Development Workflow

watch, logs, exec, run

For development: bind-mount source code or use Compose Watch (develop.watch with docker compose watch) to sync files and rebuild on changes; follow logs per service; open shells with exec; run tests and migrations as one-off run --rm commands; and seed data with scripts. Make the first-time setup a single command (copy .env.example, create secrets, up -d) and document it.

Use Compose well

Smooth development workflows, knowing when to move beyond Compose, and a review checklist.

Compose Watch configuration (sketch)

File sync and rebuild rules for the API; check the Compose docs for your version. Not run here.

services:
  api:
    build: ./api
    develop:
      watch:
        - action: sync           # copy changed source files into the container
          path: ./api/src
          target: /app/src
        - action: rebuild        # rebuild the image when dependencies change
          path: ./api/package.json

One command to start

A make up or npm run dev wrapper that prepares .env and secrets and runs Compose removes onboarding friction.

Quick check: What is docker compose run --rm useful for?

• One-off tasks like migrations or tests in a temporary container
• Deleting volumes
• Publishing ports permanently
• Building the Compose binary