Can docker compose files be used with Portainer?

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@TheRettom
I have been tinkering with using a Portainer Docker container to create other continers. Is this compose.yaml something that can be used to "fill in the blanks" within Portainer?

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I don't exactly what Portainer is or how it interacts with Docker, but my current understanding is that it acts as a GUI for Docker containers. If that's the case, then I suspect anything you do in Portainer will essentially apply as settings in compose.yaml, assuming it works that way. Docker Compose is an easy way to have multiple containers run with one command, and most home users use Compose for relatively static configurations of those containers.

So to answer your question, it appears to me that Portainer is just a fancier, and for some people, easier way to configure Docker. I'd have to tinker with Portainer myself to give you more help.

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@TheRettom
That is correct, the Portainer container once installed, has a web-based GUI interface to assist in creating Docker containers. Ref: https://docs.portainer.io/

Still learning about Portainer and Docker myself and I appreciate your reply. Absolutely no pressure for you to get familiar with it, just was curious if you knew. Thanks!

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I'm sure I could give you generic instructions if you tell me what you're attempting to accomplish, but I'd rather not hijack this forum.

If you'd like help from myself or somebody else, you could create a forum post. I'm always willing to learn, but time is limited and it would probably take a few days for me to get back to you if I worked with Portainer.

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@TheRettom
Got it figured out. When you use Portainer to create containers via the UI (manually), it does not automatically create a docker-compose.yaml file behind the scenes. What it does instead is translate your configuration into Docker API commands and run them directly. If you want to use compose files, Portainer has a feature, called Stacks, where you can use them directly to create the containers. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction as I can now work with compose files within Portainer. Easy-peasy.

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