Learn about the application scenarios of Docker Compose in OpenWrt. Docker Compose is a tool for defining and running multi-container Docker applications. With it, you can more easily deploy and manage complex Docker-based applications on OpenWrt. For example, you can quickly deploy a web server, database, message queue, and a series of interdependent services using Docker Compose. This not only greatly improves deployment efficiency but also ensures the consistency and reliability of the entire application.
Next, let’s formally enter the installation steps. Installing Docker Compose on OpenWrt (the demo firmware is sourced from openwrt.ai) involves the following key steps:
1. Install Docker. Docker is the foundation for running Docker Compose, so we need to first install Docker on OpenWrt. You can install docker and dockerd through the “packages” or by executing the command opkg install docker dockerd, but remember to update the list first (command opkg update).
2. Install Docker Compose. Go to “packages”, update the list, then filter directly for docker-compose, find and install docker-compose at the bottom. At this point, you are basically done.
3. Configure Docker Compose. The core of Docker Compose is a YAML-format configuration file used to define the services, networks, and data volumes of the entire application. You can learn its syntax from this article: www.cnblogs.com/crazymakercircle/p/15505199.html. For demonstration purposes, we created a directory /mnt/docker/compose/nginx on OpenWrt via the terminal (“Services” – “Terminal” page) to store the configuration file for the demonstration nginx project. Create a docker-compose.yml file in the nginx directory with the following content:
version: '3'
services:
nginx:
image: nginx:latest
ports:
- 8000:80Then save and exit. 
4. Start the Docker Compose application. After configuring the file, you can use the command docker-compose up -d to start the nginx web application in the background, and you can access the nginx page through the mapped port 8000. If you need to shut it down, run the command docker-compose down.
Through the above steps, you should have mastered the complete process of installing and using Docker Compose on OpenWrt. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg; Docker Compose has many advanced usages on OpenWrt. For example, how to use Docker Compose to deploy common applications like WordPress and Nextcloud? How to achieve automated deployment and monitoring of Docker Compose services? These are all worth exploring further.
In summary, OpenWrt + Docker Compose is a very powerful combination that can inject new vitality into your home/office network. I believe you will become an expert in using Docker Compose on OpenWrt, bringing more convenience and fun to your life. Let’s embark on this exciting journey of containerization again!