docker compose exec

Description

Execute a command in a running container.

Usage

$ docker compose exec [options] [-e KEY=VAL...] [--] SERVICE COMMAND [ARGS...]

Extended description

This is the equivalent of docker exec targeting a Compose service.

With this subcommand you can run arbitrary commands in your services. Commands are by default allocating a TTY, so you can use a command such as docker compose exec web sh to get an interactive prompt.

Options

Name, shorthand Default Description
--detach , -d Detached mode: Run command in the background.
--env , -e Set environment variables
--index 1 index of the container if there are multiple instances of a service [default: 1].
--no-TTY , -T Disable pseudo-TTY allocation. By default docker compose exec allocates a TTY.
--privileged Give extended privileges to the process.
--user , -u Run the command as this user.
--workdir , -w Path to workdir directory for this command.

Parent command

Command Description
docker compose Docker Compose
Command Description
docker compose build Build or rebuild services
docker compose convert Converts the compose file to platform’s canonical format
docker compose cp Copy files/folders between a service container and the local filesystem
docker compose create Creates containers for a service.
docker compose down Stop and remove containers, networks
docker compose events Receive real time events from containers.
docker compose exec Execute a command in a running container.
docker compose images List images used by the created containers
docker compose kill Force stop service containers.
docker compose logs View output from containers
docker compose ls List running compose projects
docker compose pause pause services
docker compose port Print the public port for a port binding.
docker compose ps List containers
docker compose pull Pull service images
docker compose push Push service images
docker compose restart Restart containers
docker compose rm Removes stopped service containers
docker compose run Run a one-off command on a service.
docker compose start Start services
docker compose stop Stop services
docker compose top Display the running processes
docker compose unpause unpause services
docker compose up Create and start containers