I want to run my Docker Compose application in Production. This is a multi-container project.
I could deploy my docker-compose.yml file to a Digital Ocean droplet and run all containers and expose my web-server container to the internet and access my application via a domain name. However, this is not serverless to me.
Kubernetes would be over-the-top for my use-case. Is there another Digital Ocean option whereby I provide a list of container images and DO starts them for me? I would need a persistent database too.
Thank you.
This textbox defaults to using Markdown to format your answer.
You can type !ref in this text area to quickly search our full set of tutorials, documentation & marketplace offerings and insert the link!
Heya, @christaylordeveloper
You can use DigitalOcean App Platform allows you to deploy containers without managing servers. It automatically scales, handles networking, and provides built-in logging & monitoring.
- Push your Docker images to DigitalOcean Container Registry (or Docker Hub).
- Create a new App Platform service and provide the container image name.
- Define your database as a managed database (PostgreSQL, MySQL, or Redis).
- Configure environment variables (database connection, API keys).
- Deploy & access your application via a DO-provided domain or a custom domain.
The Pros are:
✅ No need to manage VMs (Droplets). ✅ Built-in load balancing & auto-scaling. ✅ Supports managed databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis). ✅ Automatically pulls updates from the registry. ✅ HTTPS by default & zero-downtime deployments.
App Platform supports two ways to build an image for your app: Cloud Native Buildpacks and Dockerfiles.
If you still want control but without full Kubernetes, you can deploy your Docker Compose app to a DigitalOcean Droplet. Use Managed Databases for persistent storage and NGINX as a reverse proxy.
Hope that this helps!
Become a contributor for community
Get paid to write technical tutorials and select a tech-focused charity to receive a matching donation.
DigitalOcean Documentation
Full documentation for every DigitalOcean product.
Resources for startups and SMBs
The Wave has everything you need to know about building a business, from raising funding to marketing your product.
The developer cloud
Scale up as you grow — whether you're running one virtual machine or ten thousand.
Get started for free
Sign up and get $200 in credit for your first 60 days with DigitalOcean.*
*This promotional offer applies to new accounts only.