Docker Compose Wizard

Write compose files that are reproducible and safe to run, not just ones that start. The costly mistake this skill prevents is the works-on-my-machine file: latest tags that drift, an app that races its database on startup and crash-loops in CI, and state in anonymous volumes that vanishes on down.

Operating procedure

Step 1: gather inputs

Collect before writing (label guesses as guesses):

1. The services and their images or build contexts.
2. Which services hold state (databases, queues, caches) - these get named volumes.
3. Startup dependencies: who must be healthy before whom.
4. Which ports must reach the host; everything else stays internal.
5. Secrets involved, and where the file will run (dev only, CI, a real host) - a real host raises the bar on restart policy and resource limits.

Step 2: pin and size the images