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Docker/Podman Composer

Convert docker run and podman run commands into a Compose file and back — entirely in the browser. Your starting point for the manual, examples, and tips.

From a long run command to a Compose file — and back

The Docker/Podman Composer translates between two ways of describing the same container: the single-line (often very long) docker run or podman run command, and the structured docker-compose.yml. And it works in both directions — enter a run command and get the matching Compose YAML, or paste a Compose file and get a ready-to-use run command for each service.

That solves an everyday annoyance: a docker run with a dozen flags is hard to read, hard to version, and hard to maintain. A Compose file is none of those. Conversely, plenty of docs, issues, and tutorials hand you a run one-liner that you want to slot into your existing docker-compose.yml. The Composer saves you the retyping and the lookups.

The tool is built for everyone who works with containers: developers who want to move a run command copied from a tutorial into their Compose setup; DevOps and ops people documenting ad-hoc containers after the fact as a Compose service; and anyone who quickly needs the run equivalent of a Compose service to test a single container by hand.

What the tool does — at a glance

The interface is in English and split into three tabs:

  • Run → Compose — enter a docker run/podman run command, click Convert to YAML, get a docker-compose.yml. The YAML output is editable (an "editable" badge) and can be copied or downloaded straight as docker-compose.yml.
  • Compose → Run — enter Compose YAML, click Convert to Commands, get a ready-made run command per service. A radio switch picks whether the commands are generated for docker or podman.
  • Reference — a built-in "Flag Reference: docker run → Compose" table, a list of Compose-only features, an overview of restart policies, and a few tips. A lookup sheet right inside the tool.

Both converter editors are built on the ACE editor with syntax highlighting for shell and YAML. Each input field has an Example button (loads a sample) and a Clear button (empties the fields).

Fully client-side — nothing leaves your browser

Important for privacy and understanding: the Composer runs entirely in your browser. The whole conversion pipeline — command-line tokenizer, flag parser, YAML serializer, and the YAML parser for the reverse direction — is local JavaScript. There is no server fetch, no API, and no upload: neither your run command nor your Compose file is sent anywhere. So you can safely use the tool with commands that contain passwords, tokens, or internal hostnames. Even the docker-compose.yml download is produced locally as a file blob.

Try it now

→ Open the Docker/Podman Composer — paste a run command or Compose YAML, convert, copy or download the result. No account, free, right in the browser. If you'd like to see what it looks like first, the Example button in each tab loads a ready-made sample (an nginx container with ports, volumes, env, health check, and logging).

  • Docker cheat sheet — the key docker commands and flags to look up when you build a run command by hand.
  • Docker Compose cheat sheet — the structure and commands of docker compose, the perfect companion for the generated YAML.
  • Podman cheat sheet — the podman equivalents, in case you generate commands for Podman.
  • Cron generator — build crontab lines, for example to schedule a recurring container job.

There's more on the subpages: the manual with both conversion directions and every supported flag, hands-on examples, and a collection of tips & tricks.