docker compose up and down - Step-by-Step Execution

Process Flow - docker compose up and down

Start: docker-compose.yml file ready

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Run: docker compose up

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Docker reads config

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Create and start containers

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Containers running

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Run: docker compose down

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Stop and remove containers

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Cleanup networks (volumes w/ --volumes)

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All stopped and cleaned

This flow shows how docker compose up starts containers from the config, and docker compose down stops and cleans them.

Execution Sample

Docker

docker compose up
# Starts containers

docker compose down
# Stops and removes containers

This code starts containers defined in docker-compose.yml, then stops and removes them.

Process Table

Step	Command	Action	Result	State Change
1	docker compose up	Reads docker-compose.yml	Configuration loaded	Ready to create containers
2	docker compose up	Creates containers	Containers created	Containers exist but not running
3	docker compose up	Starts containers	Containers running	Containers running
4	docker compose up	Output logs	Shows container logs	Running state visible
5	docker compose down	Stops containers	Containers stopped	Containers stopped
6	docker compose down	Removes containers	Containers removed	No containers exist
7	docker compose down	Removes networks (volumes w/ --volumes)	Cleanup done	No networks remain (volumes persist by default)

💡 All containers stopped and removed, environment cleaned up (volumes persist unless --volumes)

Status Tracker

Resource	Start	After 'up' command	After 'down' command
Containers	None	Created and running	Removed
Networks	None	Created	Removed
Volumes	None	Created if defined	Removed if defined w/ --volumes

Key Moments - 3 Insights

Why do containers still exist after 'docker compose up' but before 'docker compose down'?

Because 'docker compose up' creates and starts containers, so they exist and run until 'docker compose down' stops and removes them, as shown in steps 3 and 5 of the execution table.

Does 'docker compose down' delete volumes by default?

No, volumes are only removed if you add the --volumes flag. The execution table and variable_tracker show volumes handling.

What happens if you run 'docker compose up' again while containers are running?

Docker Compose will detect running containers and recreate or reuse them depending on changes, but this is beyond the simple up/down flow shown here.

Visual Quiz - 3 Questions

Look at the execution table, what is the state of containers after step 3?

A Containers are removed

B Containers are stopped

C Containers are running

D Containers are created but not running

💡 Hint

Check the 'Result' and 'State Change' columns at step 3 in the execution table

At which step do containers get removed?

A Step 4

B Step 6

C Step 2

D Step 1

💡 Hint

Look for the action 'Removes containers' in the execution table

If you want volumes to be removed with 'docker compose down', what should you do?

A Add the --volumes flag to the down command

B Nothing, volumes are removed by default

C Run 'docker compose up' again

D Manually delete volumes after down

💡 Hint

Refer to the key moment about volume removal and the variable_tracker row for Volumes

Concept Snapshot

docker compose up: Reads config, creates, and starts containers
Containers run and logs show

docker compose down: Stops and removes containers
Removes networks and optionally volumes
Use --volumes flag to remove volumes
Simple way to start and clean multi-container apps

Full Transcript

Docker Compose uses a file called docker-compose.yml to define containers. When you run 'docker compose up', Docker reads this file, creates the containers, and starts them. You will see logs from the containers as they run. The containers keep running until you stop them. To stop and clean up, you run 'docker compose down'. This command stops the containers, removes them, and cleans up networks and optionally volumes if you add the --volumes flag. This process helps manage multi-container applications easily by starting and stopping all parts together.