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Why updating a stack is more than pulling images
A Compose file describes a project: a set of services that can be built, pulled, and started together. Each service points to an image reference, or to a local build, and each running container is an instance created from that configuration. Three layers are involved, and an update can touch any of them.
- The configuration. The
image:line incompose.yaml(ordocker-compose.yml) is the source of truth for which image a service uses. Downloading a newer image leaves this line untouched. - The images on the host. Pulling stores new image layers locally. Running containers keep using the image they were created from until they are recreated.
- The containers and their data. Recreating a container gives it a fresh writable layer. Anything written there that was not stored in a volume or bind mount is gone with the old container.
Because these layers are separate, a stack can look up to date on disk while its containers still run old images, or it can be recreated from a configuration that quietly resolves to something different than you reviewed. The rest of this article works through each layer.
Tags, digests, and what each one guarantees
An image tag such as alpine:3.21 is a name that can be re-pointed. Docker’s build documentation notes that a tag like this can resolve to a newer patch image later, which is usually what you want for security fixes and occasionally not what you want for reproducibility. Docker’s Compose trust guidance states it directly: “Tags are mutable.”
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A digest identifies the exact image content. Pinning a digest fixes the image you run, but it also means you will not receive fixes until someone updates the digest deliberately. In Docker’s Compose trust guidance, the consequence is stated as: “Treat any update to a pinned digest as a code change.”
| Approach | Example reference | What it guarantees | What it costs you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mutable tag | image: postgres:16 |
Receives patch releases when the tag is re-pulled | The same configuration can run different contents over time; a tag can be overwritten |
| Tag plus digest | image: postgres:16@sha256:<digest> |
Runs the exact reviewed content, while the tag stays readable | Every security fix requires a digest change you review and merge |
| Local build | build: . |
Image content depends on your Dockerfile and its base images | Base image updates still arrive through tags or digests, so the same question applies |
Neither approach is automatically correct. Teams that need reproducible deployments usually pin digests and update them through review. Teams that accept routine patch updates may keep tags and accept that a re-pull can change contents. The point is to choose on purpose and to know which one a given service uses. To find out, run docker compose config from the project directory. It prints the resolved configuration, which shows the image references Compose will use and any interpolated values.
Protect data before you replace containers
Recreating containers is the normal way Compose applies a new image, and it is also where data loss happens. Docker’s getting-started material for Compose states that docker compose down removes containers and the data stored in their writable layers, and it warns that production containers are regularly replaced. Expect replacement as a routine event, and make sure no important state lives only in a container.
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Check each service against these questions:
- Do databases write to a named volume or a bind mount, not to a path inside the container? Named volumes survive
docker compose downunless you add-v, which also removes them. - Do uploads, generated files, caches you cannot regenerate, or configuration edited inside the container persist outside it?
- Is there a backup taken from the running service, not only from the configuration, that you have tested by restoring it?
Back up before every update that recreates a stateful service. For databases, use the engine’s own dump or snapshot tool rather than copying files from a running data directory. Store the backup on separate storage, such as an external drive or off-host location, so that a failure on the Docker host does not take the backup with it. A backup you have never restored is an assumption, not a recovery plan.
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A controlled manual update workflow
For a stack managed by hand on one host, this sequence keeps each change visible. The commands assume you run them from the directory that holds the Compose file.
- Inventory the project. Run
docker compose psto list services and containers, anddocker compose configto see the resolved image references. Mark each service as a mutable tag, a digest pin, or a local build. - Review the configuration. Read the file for unfamiliar privileges: host mounts,
network_mode: host, devices,privileged: true, and which image each service runs. Docker’s Compose trust guidance notes that a Compose file can control these interactions with the host, so treat changes to them as security-relevant. - Record the current state. Note the image references and, where available, the digests of running images. Keep the current configuration file in version control or a dated copy so you can restore the previous reviewed reference.
- Back up stateful services. Complete the backups described above and confirm they are readable.
- Update the references. Edit the tag or digest in the configuration deliberately, or accept a tag re-pull for services where that is your policy. Then run
docker compose pullto download the images the project declares. - Apply the change. Run
docker compose up -d. Compose recreates only the services whose configuration or image changed, and leaves the rest running. - Verify. Run
docker compose psto confirm container states and health,docker compose logs --tail=100 <service>to check for startup errors, and then test the application itself: log in, run a query, exercise a critical path. A container that starts is not the same as a service that works. - Roll back if needed. Restore the previous reviewed image reference, run
docker compose pullanddocker compose up -dagain, and restore data from the backup only if the change altered it. Compose does not roll back a failed update for you.
These steps reflect how Compose handles project lifecycle and image references. They do not guarantee that every stack is free of downtime. A service with a long startup, a schema migration, or a single instance behind no load balancer will be interrupted during recreation. Schedule the change in a window that fits your service, and check each project’s build behavior and dependencies before running the commands unattended.
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Reviewed update pull requests for Git-managed stacks
If the Compose files live in a Git repository and are deployed from it, the cleanest automation is one that proposes changes rather than applying them. Renovate and Dependabot both open pull requests that bump image tags or digests in your files. Renovate documents support for Docker and Compose image updates. Docker’s build best practices describe Dependabot scheduled pull requests for base image tags and digests.
The workflow is:
- The bot opens a pull request with the changed image reference and a diff you can read.
- Your continuous integration builds the images and runs tests where the project supports them.
- A person reviews release notes for the changed image, especially for major versions and databases.
- You merge and deploy using the manual steps above, or your existing deployment pipeline.
This keeps reproducibility and change control intact. Digests are updated in the same review as code, and the rollback path is a Git revert. The limit is that a pull request is only as good as the checks behind it. A bump that builds and passes a smoke test can still fail under production data, so the verification step does not go away.
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Watchtower and unattended container replacement
Watchtower is a different kind of tool. It polls image registries for changed image digests and replaces running containers when it finds a new one. Its quickstart describes a default poll interval of every 24 hours and container replacement when an updated digest is detected. Those defaults are documented for the version and page reviewed, so check the current documentation before relying on them.
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Watchtower’s documented operation requires access to the Docker socket, typically by mounting /var/run/docker.sock into its own container. Access to that socket is effectively root-level control of the Docker host, so anything that can compromise Watchtower can control every container on the machine. Before adopting it, consider:
- Privilege. The socket mount gives the tool control over every container on the host, not only the ones you intend to update.
- Replacement is not testing. Watchtower recreates containers. It does not check that the application still works, run migrations, or back up data first.
- Data in writable layers. Recreation discards anything that existed only in the old container’s writable layer, on a schedule you may not be watching.
- Tags. Automatic replacement on a mutable tag can move a service to new contents without any review.
- Maintenance. Confirm that the project is actively maintained and compatible with your Docker Engine version before you deploy it, rather than assuming a past recommendation still holds.
Watchtower can suit low-stakes, stateless services on a host you control, where a failed update is cheap to reverse. It is a poor fit for stateful services, shared hosts, or any stack where an update needs a pre-change backup or a verification step.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Choosing an approach
The three approaches differ on four axes: how much review happens before a change, how reproducible the result is, how well the approach fits your deployment model, and how much privilege and failure impact it carries.
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| Approach | Review and change control | Reproducibility | Operational fit | Privilege and failure impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manual Compose updates | Full, if you review each change before running it | High when digests are pinned; lower with mutable tags | Single host or small number of projects managed by hand | No socket access required; failures are visible at the time you run the change |
| Renovate or Dependabot pull requests | Human-reviewed pull request before merge | High; digests and tags change through versioned commits | Git-managed stacks with a deployment pipeline | Bots act on repository changes, not on running containers; deployment still needs a controlled step |
| Watchtower automation | Minimal; replacement happens when a new digest is detected | Lower with mutable tags; a pinned digest will not change | Stateless services on hosts where unattended replacement is acceptable | Docker socket access; unreviewed replacement, possible data loss from writable layers, and no built-in application testing |
A common and defensible combination is pinned digests in Git, Renovate or Dependabot proposing the bumps, and manual or pipeline-driven application of changes after checks pass. Watchtower is best kept out of stacks that hold state you cannot recreate.
Docker Engine and Docker Desktop are a separate maintenance track
Updating images and updating Docker itself are different tasks. Image updates change what your containers run. Engine or Desktop updates change the software that runs the containers, and they depend on your operating system and installation method. Docker publishes security announcements for its products. Read the announcement that matches the exact product and versions you run, because there is no single version recommendation covering every combination of Engine, Desktop, operating system, and distribution.
Treat a Docker Engine update as a host change: confirm it against your distribution’s packaging, schedule it with the same backup and verification steps, and do not combine it with an image update in the same change window, so that any regression can be traced to one of the two.
Keeping the process repeatable
A safe update routine is mostly the same every time. Write the inventory, backup, pull, apply, verify, and rollback steps into a short runbook kept next to the Compose files, and record which services use tags and which use digests. Review it when you add a service or change a volume. The steps above are a starting framework rather than a universal production policy; adjust the sequence to your service’s startup time, migration needs, and tolerance for interruption.
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