Overview

Introduced in v1.13.0

ZaneOps supports deploying multi-container applications from docker-compose.yml files, with built-in blue/green deployments, web routing, and more.

In ZaneOps, these are called Compose Stacks.

How does it work ?

Under the hood, compose files are deployed as Docker stacks via Docker Swarm, not plain docker compose up.

This is an important distinction: Swarm is what enables ZaneOps to orchestrate rolling blue/green deployments, whereas standard Docker Compose has no concept of that.

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Ways to create a compose stack

There are three ways to create a compose stack in ZaneOps:

• From a docker-compose.yml file: paste your own compose file directly. See below.
• From a curated template: pick from ZaneOps’ library of ready-to-deploy stacks (Postgres, Redis, WordPress, and more) to get a pre-filled compose file. Browse all templates ↗.
• From a Dokploy template (experimental): paste a base64-encoded Dokploy template and ZaneOps converts it to a native compose file automatically. Learn more.

Note

All compose stacks are backed by a docker-compose.yml file. The three creation methods differ only in how that file is initially populated. You can edit the compose file at any time after creation, regardless of how the stack was created.

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How to create and deploy a Compose Stack

1. In the ZaneOps dashboard go to your project and select New > Compose Stack
2. Select from docker-compose.yml
3. Paste your compose file
4. Click Create and Deploy
5. Your services are now running

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Compose file syntax

ZaneOps adds some flavor on top of the normal compose file.

• Template expressions for generating secrets, domains, and service aliases

  docker-compose.yml

  x-zane-env:
    DB_PASSWORD: "{{ generate_password | 32 }}"
    DB_NAME: "{{ generate_slug }}"
  
  services:
    db:
      image: postgres:16
      environment:
        POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${DB_PASSWORD}
        POSTGRES_DB: ${DB_NAME}

• Label-based routing instead of port mappings for exposing services to the web

  docker-compose.yml

  services:
    web:
      image: nginx:alpine
      deploy:
        labels:
          zane.http.routes.0.domain: "myapp.com"
          zane.http.routes.0.port: "80"

• Variable interpolation using ${VAR} syntax in env vars and configs
• Config versioning for inline configuration files

See the Compose file syntax reference for the full details.