--- 
canonical: 'https://mwop.net/blog/2024-09-25-docker-compose-file-default.html'
title: 'Do you know the preferred Docker compose file name?'
author: "[Matthew Weier O'Phinney](https://mwop.net)"
created: '2024-09-25T08:40:17-05:00'
updated: '2024-09-25T08:40:17-05:00'
tags:
  - docker
  - til

---
I've been using Docker for... a long time now. So having a `docker-compose.yml` file in a project is pretty natural and common for me.

Today I learned that the preferred file is now `compose.yaml` (though `compose.yml` is also allowed), and that the `docker-compose` naming is only supported for backwards compatibility. (See the [Compose file documentation](https://docs.docker.com/compose/intro/compose-application-model/) if you don't believe me!)

Funny enough, the compose tooling doesn't call this out, even though it now calls out the fact you don't need to use the `version` setting any more.