If you're a Mac or Windows user, the best way to install Compose and keep it up-to-date is Docker for Mac and Windows.
Docker for Mac and Windows will automatically install the latest version of Docker Engine for you.
Alternatively, you can use the usual commands to install or upgrade Compose:
curl -L https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/download/1.21.1/docker-compose-`uname -s`-`uname -m` -o /usr/local/bin/docker-compose
chmod +x /usr/local/bin/docker-compose
See the install docs for more install options and instructions.
| Compose file format | Docker Engine |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1.9.0+ |
| 2.0 | 1.10.0+ |
| 2.1 | 1.12.0+ |
| 2.2, 3.0, 3.1, 3.2 | 1.13.0+ |
| 2.3, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5 | 17.06.0+ |
| 2.4 | 17.12.0+ |
| 3.6 | 18.02.0+ |
In 1.21.0, we introduced a change to how project names are sanitized for internal use in resource names. This caused issues when manipulating an existing, deployed application whose name had changed as a result. This release properly detects resources using "legacy" naming conventions.
Fixed an issue where specifying an in-context Dockerfile using an absolute path would fail despite being valid.
Fixed a bug where IPAM option changes were incorrectly detected, preventing redeployments.
Validation of v2 files now properly checks the structure of IPAM configs.
Improved support for credentials stores on Windows to include binaries using
extensions other than .exe. The list of valid extensions is determined by
the contents of the PATHEXT environment variable.
Fixed a bug where Compose would generate invalid binds containing duplicate elements with some v3.2 files, triggering errors at the Engine level during deployment.
Thanks to @albers, @shin- for contributing to this release!
| Binary name | SHA-256 sum |
|---|---|
docker-compose-Darwin-x86_64 | 1a82ba8dd9d8c6ec2fd4a49ddc4bf765ce2d15b1b4d4ee2c357ad8a2cdc4c8a0 |
docker-compose-Linux-x86_64 | 16402bfb9a52313a352f31437773242a1ccec9e4a30ccd9dc1e4477a970dc6c9 |
docker-compose-Windows-x86_64.exe | 46e06d41047c32572aec6ddb0a569f1811fc0c321795f5565452f5d31925902f |
Fetched March 31, 2026