Docker Compose Visualizer & Config Analyzer

User guide

Five steps from a raw docker-compose.yml to a clear picture of your stack.

1. Add your file

   Paste YAML into the editor, click Upload, or drop a file onto it. Not sure where to start? Pick one of the 13 samples, grouped as clean, popular stacks, patterns and "learn from mistakes".

2. Watch the workflow

   The four-step strip lights up as the file is parsed and analyzed. The ring shows a health score from 0 to 100, with tiles for services, networks, volumes, ports, errors and warnings.

3. Explore the architecture

   Click a service to highlight what it needs and what needs it. Use the legend bar to hide arrow types or highlight a tech group, the network chips to filter, and the search box to find a service. Drag to pan, zoom with + / − or Ctrl + scroll.

4. Open the detail tabs

   Services & tech lists images and versions. Ports shows exposure. Networks & volumes shows who shares what. Startup order shows the start waves. Issues lists every mistake with a fix.

5. Fix, export, share

   Edit the YAML and the diagram updates live. Export SVG or PNG for docs, a Markdown report for pull requests, or copy a share link. Use Full screen for a bigger canvas.

How to read the diagram

The same legend appears as a bar above the diagram. Click an arrow type to show or hide it, or a tech group to highlight it.

What is Docker?

Docker is an open-source platform that packages an application with everything it needs to run (code, runtime, libraries and settings) into a standard unit called a container. A container starts in seconds, behaves the same on a laptop, a test server or the cloud, and stays isolated from other containers and from the host machine.

Why use Docker?

What is Docker Compose, and why does the YAML file matter?

Real applications are rarely one container. A typical stack has a web server, an API, a database and a cache. Docker Compose describes all of them in a single docker-compose.yml (or compose.yaml) file, and one command starts the whole thing.

docker compose up -d      # start everything
docker compose ps         # see what is running
docker compose logs -f api
docker compose config     # validate the file
docker compose down       # stop and remove

Anatomy of a docker-compose.yml

A small three-service stack with the purpose of each key.

services:                          # every entry becomes a container
  web:
    image: nginx:1.27-alpine       # what to run (pin the version)
    ports: ["8080:80"]             # host:container
    depends_on: [api]              # start order
    networks: [front]              # who it can talk to
    restart: unless-stopped        # survive reboots
  api:
    build: ./api                   # build from a Dockerfile
    environment:
      DB_PASSWORD_FILE: /run/secrets/db_pw
    depends_on:
      db: {condition: service_healthy}
    networks: [front, back]
  db:
    image: postgres:16
    volumes: ["pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data"]   # keep the data
    healthcheck: {test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready"]}
    networks: [back]
volumes: {pgdata: {}}
networks: {front: {}, back: {}}

Open this example in the visualizer

Best practices checklist