How to Run Node.js, PostgreSQL, and Redis with Docker Compose

Run an application stack with Compose health checks, private service discovery, named persistence, runtime configuration, dependency readiness, and explicit backup and teardown procedures.

What you will build

This tutorial produces a working, verifiable result rather than a command list. Read each command before running it, keep configuration in version control without secrets, and record the versions used for repeatable deployment.

1. Prepare the project

mkdir node-compose && cd node-compose
printf 'POSTGRES_PASSWORD=replace-men' > .env
chmod 600 .env
docker compose config

Run preparation commands as an unprivileged application user unless a command explicitly requires sudo. A clean working tree and lockfile make rollback much easier.

2. Implement the solution

services:
  app:
    build: .
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      DATABASE_URL: postgresql://app:${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}@db:5432/app
      REDIS_URL: redis://cache:6379
    ports: ["127.0.0.1:3000:3000"]
    depends_on:
      db: {condition: service_healthy}
      cache: {condition: service_healthy}
  db:
    image: postgres:18-alpine
    environment: {POSTGRES_DB: app, POSTGRES_USER: app, POSTGRES_PASSWORD: "${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}"}
    volumes: ["db-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data"]
    healthcheck: {test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U app -d app"], interval: 10s, timeout: 5s, retries: 5}
  cache:
    image: redis:8-alpine
    healthcheck: {test: ["CMD", "redis-cli", "ping"], interval: 10s, timeout: 3s, retries: 5}
volumes: {db-data: {}}

Save the example in the filename indicated by its comment or surrounding instructions. Treat it as a minimal baseline: production applications should separate transport, business logic, persistence, and configuration into testable modules.

3. Verify end to end

docker compose up -d --build
docker compose ps
docker compose logs --tail=100 app db cache
curl -fsS http://127.0.0.1:3000/readyz
docker compose exec -T db pg_dump -U app -d app > backup.sql
docker compose down

Verification should cover both process state and a real request or data operation. A process that is merely running is not necessarily ready to serve traffic.

4. Troubleshooting and production notes

depends_on with health conditions helps startup but the app must still retry transient dependencies. Do not publish database or Redis ports unless required. docker compose down keeps named volumes; adding –volumes deletes persistent data and requires an intentional, verified backup.

Production checklist

• The supported Node.js LTS version and dependency lockfile are recorded.
• Configuration is validated at startup and secrets are stored outside source control.
• Input limits, authentication, authorization, timeouts, and error boundaries are explicit.
• Logs identify a request without exposing credentials or personal data.
• Health checks, graceful termination, resource limits, backup, and rollback have been tested.

Reference: official topic documentation. For production version selection, use a supported LTS line from the Node.js release schedule.