How to run docker-compose using docker desktop? [closed]

Question

I am on windows 10 and I have a docker-compose file and told to run it using docker desktop instead of the terminal.

I am not sure how this can be done. Docker desktop is running for me, but I don't see any terminal like facility in it to navigate to docker-compose file location and execute the command.

Answer 1

When you write "I have a docker-compose file" you probably mean you have a compose file, which is equally probably named docker-compose.yaml or docker-compose.yml.

Having said this, Docker Desktop is made of many components, the deamon, the notary, a cli client, a gui dashboard, ... which, all together, constitutes the Docker Desktop ecosystem. Running a compose file using Docker Desktop is running it inside this ecosystem, not in a particolar tool.

For instance I downloaded an awesome compose file and executed it inside Docker Desktop using the experimental (terminal-based) tool "docker compose"

once the services are up, I was able to manage the "compose" within the dashboard that is another tool part of Docker Desktop

here I can stop the compose and be able to hit the START button, being able to run the compose from a Docker Destop (gui) component that is not a terminal-based tool.

For the sake of completeness docker-compose file was originally the cli implementing originally the command to manage compose file without being in swarm mode. It is still available and used in systems where Docker Desktop is not available, e.g. raspbian.

Answer 2

Open your CMD or PowerShell in windows and it will recognize the commands for docker that you execute. So you can then type docker compose up and it will work.

Docker Desktop has a GUI but you are not supposed to use it for everything and always. They try to include some operations in the GUI and they will continue to make it better as time passes and it evolves. However when you install Docker Desktop your main docker application will also be available from the console (either CMD or PowerShell or something else) as you knew before.

The GUI is just an enhancement not the only thing that exists when you install Docker Desktop.