The ilo compose command can be configured with the following command line options. From your terminal, use ilo compose --help to get a list of all options, and their default values.

--build

The --build option can be used to build images before opening a new shell. Use this option in case you rely on local Dockerfiles.

# build images before opening shell
$ ilo compose --build

# do not build images before opening shell
$ ilo compose --build=false

# do not build images before opening shell
$ ilo compose

By default, --build is not enabled.

--debug

The --debug option toggles whether ilo should print the runtime commands into your terminal before executing them. This can be useful in case you want to move away from ilo and just use your preferred runtime instead.

# print runtime commands
$ ilo compose --debug

# do not print runtime commands
$ ilo compose --debug=false
$ ilo compose

By default, --debug is not enabled.

--file

The --file option can be used to specify the file that contains your container definitions, e.g. a docker-compose.yml file.

# use custom location
$ ilo compose --file /path/to/some/file.yaml

# use default location
$ ilo compose

By default, --file is set to docker-compose.yml.

--interactive

The --interactive option can be used to control whether you want an interactive session (default) or just want to execute a single command (e.g. during CI builds).

# run interactively
$ ilo compose --interactive

# run non-interactive
$ ilo compose --no-interactive
$ ilo compose --interactive=false

# run interactively
$ ilo compose

By default, --interactive is enabled.

--pull

The --pull option can be used to pull images before opening a new shell. This is especially useful for teams using a latest tag for their image. The image will only pulled in case the registry contains a newer image than locally available.

# pull image before opening shell
$ ilo compose --pull

# do not pull image before opening shell
$ ilo compose --pull=false

# do not pull image before opening shell
$ ilo compose

By default, --pull is not enabled.

--runtime

The --runtime option can be used to force the usage of a specific runtime. See runtimes for details.

# force to use docker-compose
$ ilo compose --runtime docker-compose

# force to use podman-compose
$ ilo compose --runtime podman-compose

# auto select
$ ilo compose

--runtime-option

The --runtime-option option can be specified multiple times and contains options for the underlying runtime.

# specify custom option(s)
$ ilo compose --runtime-option=--no-ansi
$ ilo compose --runtime-option=--no-ansi --runtime-option=--tls

# do not specify custom option
$ ilo compose

By default, --runtime-option is set to an empty array.

--runtime-pull-option

The --runtime-pull-option can be specified multiple times and contains options for the runtimes’ pull command.

# specify custom option(s)
$ ilo compose --runtime-pull-option=--ignore-pull-failures
$ ilo compose --runtime-pull-option=--ignore-pull-failures --runtime-pull-option=--quiet

# do not specify custom option
$ ilo compose

By default, --runtime-pull-option is set to an empty array.

--runtime-build-option

The --runtime-build-option can be specified multiple times and contains options for the runtimes’ build command.

# specify custom option(s)
$ ilo compose --runtime-build-option=--compress
$ ilo compose --runtime-build-option=--compress --runtime-build-option=--no-cache

# do not specify custom option
$ ilo compose

By default, --runtime-build-option is set to an empty array.

--runtime-run-option

The --runtime-run-option can be specified multiple times and contains options for the runtimes’ run command.

# specify custom option(s)
$ ilo compose --runtime-run-option=--no-deps
$ ilo compose --runtime-run-option=--no-deps --runtime-run-option=--use-aliases

# do not specify custom option
$ ilo compose

By default, --runtime-run-option is set to an empty array.

--runtime-cleanup-option

The --runtime-cleanup-option can be specified multiple times and contains options for the runtimes’ cleanup command, e.g. down for docker-compose.

# specify custom option(s)
$ ilo compose --runtime-cleanup-option=--remove-orphans
$ ilo compose --runtime-cleanup-option=--remove-orphans --runtime-cleanup-option=--volumes

# do not specify custom option
$ ilo compose

By default, --runtime-cleanup-option is set to an empty array.