Docker Run to Docker Compose Converter

What this converter does

Docker Compose describes containers in a YAML file you can commit, review and start with one command. Many projects begin as a long docker run line pasted from a README. This tool translates that line into Compose syntax: the image, container name, published ports, volumes, environment variables, networks, restart policy and the command that follows the image.

How to use it

Paste your command, or choose an example, and the YAML appears instantly. Copy it or download it as docker-compose.yml, then run docker compose up -d in the same folder. Named volumes are declared in a top-level volumes block, and bind mounts written as $(pwd) become . so the file stays portable.

Supported flags

The core set is -p, -v, -e, --name, --restart, --network, -d and the image plus its command. Beyond that the tool maps --env-file, --mount, -u, -w, -h, --entrypoint, --cap-add, --privileged, -m, --cpus, health checks, logging options and --gpus.

Worked example

This command starts a PostgreSQL database that survives restarts:

docker run -d --name db -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=secret \
  -p 5432:5432 -v pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data \
  --restart unless-stopped postgres:16

It becomes:

services:
  db:
    image: postgres:16
    container_name: db
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "5432:5432"
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=secret
    volumes:
      - pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data
volumes:
  pgdata: {}

Common mistakes

• Unquoted port mappings. YAML can read 22:22 as a base-60 number. The converter always quotes ports, so keep the quotes if you edit them.
• Flags after the image. Anything after the image name is the container command, not a Docker option. Put -p and friends before the image.
• Literal dollar signs. Compose substitutes $VARIABLES. Write $$ when you need a real dollar sign in a value.
• Secrets in the file. Passwords in environment end up in version control. Prefer an env_file that is git-ignored.