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Docker Compose limitations

This article refers to Platform v2.9.0. The current Platform version is v3.2.0.

Overview​

docker-compose.yaml is the unit of deployment for every Docker app on Barbara, but the agent's parser has a few quirks that diverge from upstream Compose. This article lists the four most common ones and shows the correct form for each. Pair this with How to package a Docker app when you build a new app.

restart: "no" must be quoted​

YAML interprets unquoted no as the boolean false, but Compose expects a string. Quote it.

docker-compose.yaml
service-name:
  image: ${SERVICE_IMAGE:-service-xxx:latest}
  restart: no
See also

Remember that the always restart policy is forbidden on Barbara nodes. Use unless-stopped as the default. See Restart policies.

No top-level name: property​

Omit the top-level name: property — the Barbara agent assigns its own project name based on the application's identity in Panel.

docker-compose.yaml
name: customName
networks:
  ...

No tty: property​

Drop the tty: property from services. The Barbara agent runs containers without an interactive TTY.

docker-compose.yaml
service-name:
  image: ${SERVICE_IMAGE:-service-xxx:latest}
  tty: true

env_file: must be a list​

Even when you load a single env file, declare it as a YAML list (one entry, prefixed with -).

docker-compose.yaml
service-name:
  image: ${SERVICE_IMAGE:-service-xxx:latest}
  env_file: user.env

Summary​

Four small parser quirks, four small fixes: quote "no" for restart, drop the top-level name:, drop tty:, and write env_file: as a list. Apply these to your compose file before packaging, and the Barbara agent will install the app on the first try.