compose2pod

Convert a Docker Compose file into a POSIX sh script that runs its services as a single Podman pod.

Built for CI and test environments where you can't use docker compose or podman kube play:

• No bridge networking / netavark. Unprivileged CI containers often have a read-only /proc/sys, so netavark fails to create bridge networks. A single pod shares one network namespace with no bridge: services talk over 127.0.0.1, and names resolve via --add-host.
• No systemd. Podman healthchecks are normally scheduled by systemd timers. compose2pod gates startup by polling podman healthcheck run directly, so depends_on: service_healthy works without systemd.
• No heavy runtime. The core is stdlib-only — no dependencies, no compiled wheels — so it installs and runs in minimal Python images.

Install

pip install compose2pod            # core: reads compose as JSON
pip install compose2pod[yaml]      # optional: read YAML directly (adds PyYAML)

Usage

# YAML directly (needs the [yaml] extra)
compose2pod docker-compose.yml --target app --image myimage:ci > run.sh

# Or stay dependency-free by piping JSON (e.g. via yq)
yq -o=json '.' docker-compose.yml | compose2pod --target app --image myimage:ci > run.sh

sh ./run.sh

Supported compose subset

compose2pod supports an honest subset and errors clearly on anything outside it: image/build, command, environment/env_file, short-form bind volumes, healthcheck (CMD/CMD-SHELL), depends_on (all conditions), and network aliases. Compose extension fields (any x--prefixed key) and YAML anchors are accepted as-is, so a top-level x-* anchor block for shared config just works. ${VAR}-style variable interpolation is left live in the generated script, resolved by its shell against the environment present when the script runs (no .env file support). See architecture/supported-subset.md for the full accept/ignore/reject matrix.

Status

Beta. Part of the modern-python family. MIT licensed.