docker-local

When working on a project with Docker, first detect the setup:

```bash

# Check for compose files

ls -la docker-compose.yml compose.yml 2>/dev/null

# Check for environment files

ls -la .env* 2>/dev/null

# Check for Makefile or scripts

ls -la Makefile docker/ scripts/ 2>/dev/null

```

Project Lifecycle

```bash

docker compose up -d # Start in background

docker compose up -d --build # Start with rebuild

docker compose down # Stop and remove containers

docker compose down -v # Also remove volumes (DATA LOSS!)

docker compose restart # Restart all services

```

Running Commands

```bash

# In running container

docker compose exec

# Examples

docker compose exec php composer install

docker compose exec php ./vendor/bin/drush cr

docker compose exec php bash

# In new container (if service not running)

docker compose run --rm php composer install

```

Debugging

```bash

docker compose ps # Show container status

docker compose logs -f # Follow all logs

docker compose logs -f php # Follow specific service

docker compose top # Show processes

docker compose exec php env # Show environment

```

Common Service Names

Projects vary, but common patterns:

| Service Type | Common Names |

|-------------|--------------|

| PHP/Web | php, web, app, drupal, php-fpm |

| Database | db, mysql, mariadb, postgres |

| Cache | redis, memcached |

| Search | solr, elasticsearch |

Running Drush

```bash

# Find the PHP container

docker compose ps

# Run Drush (path may vary)

docker compose exec php drush cr

docker compose exec php ./vendor/bin/drush cr

docker compose exec web vendor/bin/drush cr

```

Database Operations

```bash

# MySQL/MariaDB

docker compose exec db mysql -u root -p

# Import

docker compose exec -T db mysql -u root -p < dump.sql

# Export

docker compose exec db mysqldump -u root -p > dump.sql

# PostgreSQL

docker compose exec db psql -U

```

For Drupal projects without DDEV:

```yaml

# docker-compose.yml

services:

php:

build:

context: .

dockerfile: docker/php/Dockerfile

volumes:

- .:/var/www/html:cached

depends_on:

- db

environment:

- PHP_MEMORY_LIMIT=512M

web:

image: nginx:alpine

ports:

- "8080:80"

volumes:

- .:/var/www/html:ro

- ./docker/nginx/default.conf:/etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf:ro

depends_on:

- php

db:

image: mariadb:10.11

environment:

MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: root

MYSQL_DATABASE: drupal

MYSQL_USER: drupal

MYSQL_PASSWORD: drupal

volumes:

- db-data:/var/lib/mysql

ports:

- "3306:3306"

redis:

image: redis:7-alpine

ports:

- "6379:6379"

volumes:

db-data:

```

PHP Dockerfile

```dockerfile

# docker/php/Dockerfile

FROM php:8.2-fpm

RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \

git unzip libpng-dev libjpeg-dev libfreetype6-dev \

libzip-dev libicu-dev mariadb-client \

&& docker-php-ext-configure gd --with-freetype --with-jpeg \

&& docker-php-ext-install gd pdo_mysql zip intl opcache bcmath

COPY --from=composer:latest /usr/bin/composer /usr/bin/composer

WORKDIR /var/www/html

```

Nginx Config

```nginx

# docker/nginx/default.conf

server {

listen 80;

server_name localhost;

root /var/www/html/web;

index index.php;

location / {

try_files $uri /index.php$is_args$args;

}

location ~ \.php$ {

fastcgi_pass php:9000;

fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;

include fastcgi_params;

}

location ~ /\.ht {

deny all;

}

}

```

Simplify commands with a Makefile:

```makefile

# Makefile

.PHONY: up down restart shell drush composer logs

up:

docker compose up -d

down:

docker compose down

restart:

docker compose restart

shell:

docker compose exec php bash

drush:

docker compose exec php ./vendor/bin/drush $(filter-out $@,$(MAKECMDGOALS))

composer:

docker compose exec php composer $(filter-out $@,$(MAKECMDGOALS))

logs:

docker compose logs -f

db-import:

docker compose exec -T db mysql -u root -proot drupal < $(file)

db-export:

docker compose exec db mysqldump -u root -proot drupal > dump.sql

%:

@:

```

Usage:

```bash

make up

make drush cr

make composer require drupal/module

make db-import file=backup.sql

```

Port Conflicts

```bash

# Find what's using a port

sudo lsof -i :80

sudo lsof -i :3306

# Check all Docker ports

docker ps --format "table {{.Names}}\t{{.Ports}}"

```

Container Won't Start

```bash

docker compose logs # Check logs

docker compose down && docker compose up -d --build # Rebuild

docker compose down -v && docker compose up -d # Fresh start (loses data!)

```

Permission Issues

```bash

# Check container user

docker compose exec php id

# Fix web directory permissions

docker compose exec php chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/web/sites/default/files

```

Network Issues

```bash

# Containers reach each other by service name

# From PHP container: mysql -h db -u root -proot

# Inspect network

docker network ls

docker network inspect _default

```

Performance (macOS/Windows)

Slow file sync on macOS/Windows:

• Use :cached volume flag
• Exclude vendor/ and node_modules/ from sync
• Consider Docker Desktop's VirtioFS (macOS)

```yaml

volumes:

- .:/var/www/html:cached

- vendor:/var/www/html/vendor # Named volume for vendor

```

.env File

Docker Compose auto-loads .env:

```env

COMPOSE_PROJECT_NAME=myproject

PHP_VERSION=8.2

MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=root

MYSQL_DATABASE=drupal

```

Drupal settings.php

```php

// settings.php for Docker

$databases['default']['default'] = [

'driver' => 'mysql',

'database' => getenv('MYSQL_DATABASE') ?: 'drupal',

'username' => getenv('MYSQL_USER') ?: 'drupal',

'password' => getenv('MYSQL_PASSWORD') ?: 'drupal',

'host' => getenv('DB_HOST') ?: 'db',

'port' => getenv('DB_PORT') ?: 3306,

];

// Redis (if using)

if (getenv('REDIS_HOST')) {

$settings['redis.connection']['host'] = getenv('REDIS_HOST') ?: 'redis';

$settings['cache']['default'] = 'cache.backend.redis';

}

```

1. Version your docker-compose.yml - Ensure consistent environments
2. Use .env for secrets - Never commit passwords
3. Create a Makefile - Simplify commands for the team
4. Document in README - How to start, stop, access services
5. Use named volumes - For database persistence
6. Health checks - Ensure services are ready before dependent services start