How to Install Docker Compose on macOS

Introduction

Docker Compose is a tool used for defining and running multi-container Docker applications. In this tutorial, we will be installing Docker Compose on macOS.

Prerequisites

• A macOS machine.
• Root access or a user account with sudo privileges.

Step 1: Install Docker Desktop

If you haven't already installed Docker Desktop on your macOS machine, kindly follow the instructions on this link.

Step 2: Verify Docker Installation

To verify if Docker was installed successfully, open your terminal and run:

docker --version

You should see a version number printed to your terminal if the installation was successful.

Step 3: Download Docker Compose

Docker Compose is not included in the Docker installation process, so we will need to download it separately. To download Docker Compose, open your terminal and run:

sudo curl -L "https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/download/1.27.4/docker-compose-$(uname -s)-$(uname -m)" -o /usr/local/bin/docker-compose

This command will download the latest Docker Compose version, which at the time of writing this tutorial was 1.27.4. You can replace the version number with any version you want to download.

After the command finishes, set the correct permissions using the following command:

sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/docker-compose

Step 4: Verify Docker Compose Installation

To verify if Docker Compose was installed successfully, run the following command:

docker-compose --version

You should see a version number printed to your terminal if the installation was successful.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Docker Compose on your macOS machine. With Docker Compose, you can define and run multi-container Docker applications easily.