Compose describes several services and their connections in one file. Each service has its own image, runtime environment and mounts; project networks let services address one another by name. A dependency declaration controls startup order. Waiting for useful service readiness requires an appropriate health condition, because a process can start before its database accepts requests. Bring the whole project up when the request includes a dependency, instead of launching a similar standalone container. During teardown, decide whether named volumes must survive. The supplied fictional stack combines a web preview and a cache, with a published port and a retained data volume. Combined Compose logs preserve each service prefix for a complete diagnostic handoff.