I've been using Docker for a while, but I'm new to Docker Desktop on Windows and ran into an issue I didn't expect. In my project, I have a `docker-compose.yml` file that defines a service like this:
services:
web:
image: example-a-web-server
container_name: example-a-container
...
This works perfectly, creating the right image and container. However, when I copy this compose file to a different project and define another service with a different image and container name:
services:
web:
image: example-b-web-server
container_name: example-b-container
...
I notice that when I run `docker compose ... up -d`, the new definition overwrites the old container, even though they have different image and container names. The original container disappears from the list entirely, which is odd. The only reference I can find to the first "web" is in the metadata where it shows up labeled as "com.docker.compose.service: web".
Is there a way around this? Or is there something I'm missing? It seems strange that multiple projects could easily have services with the same name.
5 Answers
Just a tip, make sure all service names are unique too. Having service names like `web`, `web-a`, and `web-b` can help prevent any mix-ups as well.
You might want to define a project name at the top level of your `docker-compose.yml` file. For instance, you can set `name: web-a` for the first project and `name: web-b` for the second. This will help to differentiate the services.
Hey! So first off, have you checked the folder structure of your compose files? If both projects are in the same folder and have the same name, they might be conflicting. Docker Compose defaults to using the folder name as the project name to identify services.
Yeah, I realized both were in directories named `docker`. It totally makes sense now that I should have named them differently. Thanks for the heads up!
Another thing to note is that Docker Compose uses the project name to distinguish services. If you keep projects in the same-named directory, you'll run into problems like this. Using the `--project-name` flag is a good solution if you want to keep things organized differently.
Got it! I hadn't thought about the project name being so important. This really cleared things up for me!
Check the Docker documentation about specifying project names too. It might give you some insights on avoiding these kinds of issues in the future. Also, are you using the `-p` flag or `-f` flag when running your commands?
That worked! I added the project names, and now everything is running as it should. Thanks a lot!