Run docker-compose up on remote host from Gitlab CI using ssh

Question

In my docker-compose.yml I use some .env variables. Just like that:

services:
  ms:
    image: 'template:latest'
    build:
      context: .
    restart: always
    ports:
      - '${PORT}:${PORT}'
    env_file:
      - .env

Docker documentation says, that I have to run docker-compose up command from directory when .env and docker-compose.yml files are present together.

I want to use GitLab CI to deploy my service automatically. This is the part of .gitlab-ci.yml file:

image: docker:latest

services:
  - docker:dind

...

run-deploy-prod:
  stage: deploy
  cache: {}
  before_script:
  # ssh configuration for alpine linux
  script:
    # move docker-compose.yml and .env to the location ~/docker_app/app
    - ssh $USER_NAME@$HOST_ADDRESS 'docker-compose -f '~/docker_app/app/docker-compose.yml' up --no-build -d'

The question: How can I run docker-compose exactly from the location ~/docker_app/app to load .env variables properly?

I tried to use ssh with -T, -tt and -t options, like:

ssh -T bob@foo "cd ~/docker_app/app && exec \$SHELL && docker-compose up..."

without any success.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

ErikMD ErikMD · Accepted Answer · 2018-12-08T14:37:08

I'm pretty sure … && exec \$SHELL && … cannot work (see e.g. the official doc on the exec builtin).

However, it seems your first attempt should be OK, after fixing the quotes: could you try the following?

- (…)
- ssh $USER_NAME@$HOST_ADDRESS "docker-compose -f ~/docker_app/app/docker-compose.yml up --no-build -d"

or equivalently:

- (…)
- ssh $USER_NAME@$HOST_ADDRESS "cd ~/docker_app/app/ && docker-compose up --no-build -d"

Otherwise, could you paste the error log you obtain?

(Also, you should make sure that the docker-compose.yml and .env files have been copied to your remote server at $HOST_ADDRESS in the appropriate folder. − This is obvious, but I wasn't sure you had used scp or rsync given the related comment in your question "move docker-compose.yml and .env …")

Run docker-compose up on remote host from Gitlab CI using ssh

2 Answers