Compose Farm

A minimal CLI tool to run Docker Compose commands across multiple hosts via SSH.

Note

Run docker compose commands across multiple hosts via SSH. One YAML maps services to hosts. Run cf apply and reality matches your config—services start, migrate, or stop as needed. No Kubernetes, no Swarm, no magic.

• Why Compose Farm?
• How It Works
• Requirements
• Limitations & Best Practices
  • What breaks when you move a service
  • Best practices
  • What Compose Farm doesn't do
• Installation
• SSH Authentication
  • SSH Agent (default)
  • Dedicated SSH Key (recommended for Docker/Web UI)
• Configuration
  • Multi-Host Services
  • Config Command
• Usage
  • CLI --help Output
  • Auto-Migration
• Traefik Multihost Ingress (File Provider)
• Comparison with Alternatives
• License

Why Compose Farm?

I used to run 100+ Docker Compose stacks on a single machine that kept running out of memory. I needed a way to distribute services across multiple machines without the complexity of:

• Kubernetes: Overkill for my use case. I don't need pods, services, ingress controllers, or YAML manifests 10x the size of my compose files.
• Docker Swarm: Effectively in maintenance mode—no longer being invested in by Docker.

Both require changes to your compose files. Compose Farm requires zero changes—your existing docker-compose.yml files work as-is.

I also wanted a declarative setup—one config file that defines where everything runs. Change the config, run cf apply, and everything reconciles—services start, migrate, or stop as needed. See Comparison with Alternatives for how this compares to other approaches.

Before you say it—no, this is not a new standard. I changed nothing about my existing setup. When I added more hosts, I just mounted my drives at the same paths, and everything worked. You can do all of this manually today—SSH into a host and run docker compose up.

Compose Farm just automates what you'd do by hand:

• Runs docker compose commands over SSH
• Tracks which service runs on which host
• One command (cf apply) to reconcile everything—start missing services, migrate moved ones, stop removed ones
• Generates Traefik file-provider config for cross-host routing

It's a convenience wrapper, not a new paradigm.

How It Works

The declarative way — run cf apply and reality matches your config:

1. Compose Farm compares your config to what's actually running
2. Services in config but not running? Starts them
3. Services on the wrong host? Migrates them (stops on old host, starts on new)
4. Services running but removed from config? Stops them

Under the hood — each service operation is just SSH + docker compose:

1. Look up which host runs the service (e.g., plex → server-1)
2. SSH to server-1 (or run locally if localhost)
3. Execute docker compose -f /opt/compose/plex/docker-compose.yml up -d
4. Stream output back with [plex] prefix

That's it. No orchestration, no service discovery, no magic.

Requirements

• Python 3.11+ (we recommend uv for installation)
• SSH key-based authentication to your hosts (uses ssh-agent)
• Docker and Docker Compose installed on all target hosts
• Shared storage: All compose files must be accessible at the same path on all hosts
• Docker networks: External networks must exist on all hosts (use cf init-network to create)

Compose Farm assumes your compose files are accessible at the same path on all hosts. This is typically achieved via:

• NFS mount (e.g., /opt/compose mounted from a NAS)
• Synced folders (e.g., Syncthing, rsync)
• Shared filesystem (e.g., GlusterFS, Ceph)

# Example: NFS mount on all Docker hosts
nas:/volume1/compose  →  /opt/compose (on server-1)
nas:/volume1/compose  →  /opt/compose (on server-2)
nas:/volume1/compose  →  /opt/compose (on server-3)

Compose Farm simply runs docker compose -f /opt/compose/{service}/docker-compose.yml on the appropriate host—it doesn't copy or sync files.

Limitations & Best Practices

Compose Farm moves containers between hosts but does not provide cross-host networking. Docker's internal DNS and networks don't span hosts.

What breaks when you move a service

• Docker DNS - http://redis:6379 won't resolve from another host
• Docker networks - Containers can't reach each other via network names
• Environment variables - DATABASE_URL=postgres://db:5432 stops working

Best practices

1. Keep dependent services together - If an app needs a database, redis, or worker, keep them in the same compose file on the same host

2. Only migrate standalone services - Services that don't talk to other containers (or only talk to external APIs) are safe to move

3. Expose ports for cross-host communication - If services must communicate across hosts, publish ports and use IP addresses instead of container names:

   # Instead of: DATABASE_URL=postgres://db:5432
   # Use:        DATABASE_URL=postgres://192.168.1.66:5432
   

   This includes Traefik routing—containers need published ports for the file-provider to reach them

What Compose Farm doesn't do

• No overlay networking (use Docker Swarm or Kubernetes for that)
• No service discovery across hosts
• No automatic dependency tracking between compose files

If you need containers on different hosts to communicate seamlessly, you need Docker Swarm, Kubernetes, or a service mesh—which adds the complexity Compose Farm is designed to avoid.

Installation

uv tool install compose-farm
# or
pip install compose-farm

🐳 Docker

Using the provided docker-compose.yml:

docker compose run --rm cf up --all

Or directly:

docker run --rm \
  -v $SSH_AUTH_SOCK:/ssh-agent -e SSH_AUTH_SOCK=/ssh-agent \
  -v ./compose-farm.yaml:/root/.config/compose-farm/compose-farm.yaml:ro \
  ghcr.io/basnijholt/compose-farm up --all

SSH Authentication

Compose Farm uses SSH to run commands on remote hosts. There are two authentication methods:

SSH Agent (default)

Works out of the box if you have an SSH agent running with your keys loaded:

# Verify your agent has keys
ssh-add -l

# Run compose-farm commands
cf up --all

Dedicated SSH Key (recommended for Docker/Web UI)

When running compose-farm in Docker, the SSH agent connection can be lost (e.g., after container restart). The cf ssh command sets up a dedicated key that persists:

# Generate key and copy to all configured hosts
cf ssh setup

# Check status
cf ssh status

This creates ~/.ssh/compose-farm (ED25519, no passphrase) and copies the public key to each host's authorized_keys. Compose Farm tries the SSH agent first, then falls back to this key.

🐳 Docker volume options for SSH keys

When running in Docker, mount a volume to persist the SSH keys:

Option 1: Named volume (default)

volumes:
  - cf-ssh:/root/.ssh

Option 2: Host path (easier to backup/inspect)

volumes:
  - ~/.ssh/compose-farm:/root/.ssh

Run cf ssh setup once after starting the container (while the SSH agent still works), and the keys will persist across restarts.

Configuration

Create ~/.config/compose-farm/compose-farm.yaml (or ./compose-farm.yaml in your working directory):

compose_dir: /opt/compose  # Must be the same path on all hosts

hosts:
  server-1:
    address: 192.168.1.10
    user: docker
  server-2:
    address: 192.168.1.11
    # user defaults to current user
  local: localhost  # Run locally without SSH

services:
  plex: server-1
  jellyfin: server-2
  sonarr: server-1
  radarr: local  # Runs on the machine where you invoke compose-farm

  # Multi-host services (run on multiple/all hosts)
  autokuma: all              # Runs on ALL configured hosts
  dozzle: [server-1, server-2]  # Explicit list of hosts

Compose files are expected at {compose_dir}/{service}/compose.yaml (also supports compose.yml, docker-compose.yml, docker-compose.yaml).

Multi-Host Services

Some services need to run on every host. This is typically required for tools that access host-local resources like the Docker socket (/var/run/docker.sock), which cannot be accessed remotely without security risks.

Common use cases:

• AutoKuma - auto-creates Uptime Kuma monitors from container labels (needs local Docker socket)
• Dozzle - real-time log viewer (needs local Docker socket)
• Promtail/Alloy - log shipping agents (needs local Docker socket and log files)
• node-exporter - Prometheus host metrics (needs access to host /proc, /sys)

This is the same pattern as Docker Swarm's deploy.mode: global.

Use the all keyword or an explicit list:

services:
  # Run on all configured hosts
  autokuma: all
  dozzle: all

  # Run on specific hosts
  node-exporter: [server-1, server-2, server-3]

When you run cf up autokuma, it starts the service on all hosts in parallel. Multi-host services:

• Are excluded from migration logic (they always run everywhere)
• Show output with [service@host] prefix for each host
• Track all running hosts in state

Config Command

Compose Farm includes a config subcommand to help manage configuration files:

cf config init      # Create a new config file with documented example
cf config show      # Display current config with syntax highlighting
cf config path      # Print the config file path (useful for scripting)
cf config validate  # Validate config syntax and schema
cf config edit      # Open config in $EDITOR

Use cf config init to get started with a fully documented template.

Usage

The CLI is available as both compose-farm and the shorter cf alias.

Command	Description
cf apply	Make reality match config (start + migrate + stop orphans)
cf up <svc>	Start service (auto-migrates if host changed)
cf down <svc>	Stop service
cf restart <svc>	down + up
cf update <svc>	pull + down + up
cf pull <svc>	Pull latest images
cf logs -f <svc>	Follow logs
cf ps	Show status of all services
cf refresh	Update state from running services
cf check	Validate config, mounts, networks
cf init-network	Create Docker network on hosts
cf traefik-file	Generate Traefik file-provider config
cf config <cmd>	Manage config files (init, show, path, validate, edit)

All commands support --all to operate on all services.

Each command replaces: look up host → SSH → find compose file → run ssh host "cd /opt/compose/plex && docker compose up -d".

# The main command: make reality match your config
cf apply               # start missing + migrate + stop orphans
cf apply --dry-run     # preview what would change
cf apply --no-orphans  # skip stopping orphaned services
cf apply --full        # also refresh all services (picks up config changes)

# Or operate on individual services
cf up plex jellyfin    # start services (auto-migrates if host changed)
cf up --all
cf down plex           # stop services
cf down --orphaned     # stop services removed from config

# Pull latest images
cf pull --all

# Restart (down + up)
cf restart plex

# Update (pull + down + up) - the end-to-end update command
cf update --all

# Update state from reality (discovers running services + captures digests)
cf refresh             # updates state.yaml and dockerfarm-log.toml
cf refresh --dry-run   # preview without writing

# Validate config, traefik labels, mounts, and networks
cf check                 # full validation (includes SSH checks)
cf check --local         # fast validation (skip SSH)
cf check jellyfin        # check service + show which hosts can run it

# Create Docker network on new hosts (before migrating services)
cf init-network nuc hp   # create mynetwork on specific hosts
cf init-network          # create on all hosts

# View logs
cf logs plex
cf logs -f plex  # follow

# Show status
cf ps

CLI --help Output

Full --help output for each command. See the Usage table above for a quick overview.

See the output of cf --help

 Usage: cf [OPTIONS] COMMAND [ARGS]...

 Compose Farm - run docker compose commands across multiple hosts

╭─ Options ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ --version             -v        Show version and exit                        │
│ --install-completion            Install completion for the current shell.    │
│ --show-completion               Show completion for the current shell, to    │
│                                 copy it or customize the installation.       │
│ --help                -h        Show this message and exit.                  │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
╭─ Lifecycle ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ up             Start services (docker compose up -d). Auto-migrates if host  │
│                changed.                                                      │
│ down           Stop services (docker compose down).                          │
│ pull           Pull latest images (docker compose pull).                     │
│ restart        Restart services (down + up).                                 │
│ update         Update services (pull + build + down + up).                   │
│ apply          Make reality match config (start, migrate, stop as needed).   │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
╭─ Configuration ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ traefik-file   Generate a Traefik file-provider fragment from compose        │
│                Traefik labels.                                               │
│ refresh        Update local state from running services.                     │
│ check          Validate configuration, traefik labels, mounts, and networks. │
│ init-network   Create Docker network on hosts with consistent settings.      │
│ config         Manage compose-farm configuration files.                      │
│ ssh            Manage SSH keys for passwordless authentication.              │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
╭─ Monitoring ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ logs           Show service logs.                                            │
│ ps             Show status of all services.                                  │
│ stats          Show overview statistics for hosts and services.              │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
╭─ Server ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ web            Start the web UI server.                                      │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯

Lifecycle

See the output of cf up --help

 Usage: cf up [OPTIONS] [SERVICES]...

 Start services (docker compose up -d). Auto-migrates if host changed.

╭─ Arguments ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│   services      [SERVICES]...  Services to operate on                        │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
╭─ Options ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ --all     -a            Run on all services                                  │
│ --host    -H      TEXT  Filter to services on this host                      │
│ --config  -c      PATH  Path to config file                                  │
│ --help    -h            Show this message and exit.                          │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯

See the output of cf down --help

 Usage: cf down [OPTIONS] [SERVICES]...

 Stop services (docker compose down).

╭─ Arguments ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│   services      [SERVICES]...  Services to operate on                        │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
╭─ Options ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ --all       -a            Run on all services                                │
│ --orphaned                Stop orphaned services (in state but removed from  │
│                           config)                                            │
│ --host      -H      TEXT  Filter to services on this host                    │
│ --config    -c      PATH  Path to config file                                │
│ --help      -h            Show this message and exit.                        │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯

See the output of cf pull --help

 Usage: cf pull [OPTIONS] [SERVICES]...

 Pull latest images (docker compose pull).

╭─ Arguments ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│   services      [SERVICES]...  Services to operate on                        │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
╭─ Options ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ --all     -a            Run on all services                                  │
│ --config  -c      PATH  Path to config file                                  │
│ --help    -h            Show this message and exit.                          │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯

See the output of cf restart --help

 Usage: cf restart [OPTIONS] [SERVICES]...

 Restart services (down + up).

╭─ Arguments ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│   services      [SERVICES]...  Services to operate on                        │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
╭─ Options ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ --all     -a            Run on all services                                  │
│ --config  -c      PATH  Path to config file                                  │
│ --help    -h            Show this message and exit.                          │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯

See the output of cf update --help

 Usage: cf update [OPTIONS] [SERVICES]...

 Update services (pull + build + down + up).

╭─ Arguments ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│   services      [SERVICES]...  Services to operate on                        │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
╭─ Options ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ --all     -a            Run on all services                                  │
│ --config  -c      PATH  Path to config file                                  │
│ --help    -h            Show this message and exit.                          │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯

See the output of cf apply --help

 Usage: cf apply [OPTIONS]

 Make reality match config (start, migrate, stop as needed).

 This is the "reconcile" command that ensures running services match your
 config file. It will:
 1. Stop orphaned services (in state but removed from config) 2. Migrate
 services on wrong host (host in state ≠ host in config) 3. Start missing
 services (in config but not in state)
 Use --dry-run to preview changes before applying. Use --no-orphans to only
 migrate/start without stopping orphaned services. Use --full to also run 'up'
 on all services (picks up compose/env changes).

╭─ Options ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ --dry-run     -n            Show what would change without executing         │
│ --no-orphans                Only migrate, don't stop orphaned services       │
│ --full        -f            Also run up on all services to apply config      │
│                             changes                                          │
│ --config      -c      PATH  Path to config file                              │
│ --help        -h            Show this message and exit.                      │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯

Configuration

See the output of cf traefik-file --help

 Usage: cf traefik-file [OPTIONS] [SERVICES]...

 Generate a Traefik file-provider fragment from compose Traefik labels.

╭─ Arguments ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│   services      [SERVICES]...  Services to operate on                        │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
╭─ Options ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ --all     -a            Run on all services                                  │
│ --output  -o      PATH  Write Traefik file-provider YAML to this path        │
│                         (stdout if omitted)                                  │
│ --config  -c      PATH  Path to config file                                  │
│ --help    -h            Show this message and exit.                          │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯

See the output of cf refresh --help

 Usage: cf refresh [OPTIONS]

 Update local state from running services.

 Discovers which services are running on which hosts, updates the state file,
 and captures image digests. This is a read operation - it updates your local
 state to match reality, not the other way around.
 Use 'cf apply' to make reality match your config (stop orphans, migrate).

╭─ Options ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ --config    -c      PATH  Path to config file                                │
│ --log-path  -l      PATH  Path to Dockerfarm TOML log                        │
│ --dry-run   -n            Show what would change without writing             │
│ --help      -h            Show this message and exit.                        │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯

See the output of cf check --help

 Usage: cf check [OPTIONS] [SERVICES]...

 Validate configuration, traefik labels, mounts, and networks.

 Without arguments: validates all services against configured hosts. With
 service arguments: validates specific services and shows host compatibility.
 Use --local to skip SSH-based checks for faster validation.

╭─ Arguments ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│   services      [SERVICES]...  Services to operate on                        │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
╭─ Options ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ --local                 Skip SSH-based checks (faster)                       │
│ --config  -c      PATH  Path to config file                                  │
│ --help    -h            Show this message and exit.                          │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯

See the output of cf init-network --help

 Usage: cf init-network [OPTIONS] [HOSTS]...

 Create Docker network on hosts with consistent settings.

 Creates an external Docker network that services can use for cross-host
 communication. Uses the same subnet/gateway on all hosts to ensure consistent
 networking.

╭─ Arguments ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│   hosts      [HOSTS]...  Hosts to create network on (default: all)           │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
╭─ Options ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ --network  -n      TEXT  Network name [default: mynetwork]                   │
│ --subnet   -s      TEXT  Network subnet [default: 172.20.0.0/16]             │
│ --gateway  -g      TEXT  Network gateway [default: 172.20.0.1]               │
│ --config   -c      PATH  Path to config file                                 │
│ --help     -h            Show this message and exit.                         │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯

See the output of cf config --help

 Usage: cf config [OPTIONS] COMMAND [ARGS]...

 Manage compose-farm configuration files.

╭─ Options ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ --help  -h        Show this message and exit.                                │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
╭─ Commands ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ init       Create a new config file with documented example.                 │
│ edit       Open the config file in your default editor.                      │
│ show       Display the config file location and contents.                    │
│ path       Print the config file path (useful for scripting).                │
│ validate   Validate the config file syntax and schema.                       │
│ symlink    Create a symlink from the default config location to a config     │
│            file.                                                             │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯

See the output of cf ssh --help

Monitoring

See the output of cf logs --help

 Usage: cf logs [OPTIONS] [SERVICES]...

 Show service logs.

╭─ Arguments ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│   services      [SERVICES]...  Services to operate on                        │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
╭─ Options ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ --all     -a               Run on all services                               │
│ --host    -H      TEXT     Filter to services on this host                   │
│ --follow  -f               Follow logs                                       │
│ --tail    -n      INTEGER  Number of lines (default: 20 for --all, 100       │
│                            otherwise)                                        │
│ --config  -c      PATH     Path to config file                               │
│ --help    -h               Show this message and exit.                       │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯

See the output of cf ps --help

 Usage: cf ps [OPTIONS]

 Show status of all services.

╭─ Options ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ --config  -c      PATH  Path to config file                                  │
│ --help    -h            Show this message and exit.                          │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯

See the output of cf stats --help

 Usage: cf stats [OPTIONS]

 Show overview statistics for hosts and services.

 Without --live: Shows config/state info (hosts, services, pending migrations).
 With --live: Also queries Docker on each host for container counts.

╭─ Options ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ --live    -l            Query Docker for live container stats                │
│ --config  -c      PATH  Path to config file                                  │
│ --help    -h            Show this message and exit.                          │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯

Server

See the output of cf web --help

Auto-Migration

When you change a service's host assignment in config and run up, Compose Farm automatically:

1. Checks that required mounts and networks exist on the new host (aborts if missing)
2. Runs down on the old host
3. Runs up -d on the new host
4. Updates state tracking

Use cf apply to automatically reconcile all services—it finds and migrates services on wrong hosts, stops orphaned services, and starts missing services.

# Before: plex runs on server-1
services:
  plex: server-1

# After: change to server-2, then run `cf up plex`
services:
  plex: server-2  # Compose Farm will migrate automatically

Orphaned services: When you remove (or comment out) a service from config, it becomes "orphaned"—tracked in state but no longer in config. Use these commands to handle orphans:

• cf apply — Migrate services AND stop orphans (the full reconcile)
• cf down --orphaned — Only stop orphaned services
• cf apply --dry-run — Preview what would change before applying

This makes the config truly declarative: comment out a service, run cf apply, and it stops.

Traefik Multihost Ingress (File Provider)

If you run a single Traefik instance on one "front‑door" host and want it to route to Compose Farm services on other hosts, Compose Farm can generate a Traefik file‑provider fragment from your existing compose labels.

How it works

• Your docker-compose.yml remains the source of truth. Put normal traefik.* labels on the container you want exposed.
• Labels and port specs may use ${VAR} / ${VAR:-default}; Compose Farm resolves these using the stack's .env file and your current environment, just like Docker Compose.
• Publish a host port for that container (via ports:). The generator prefers host‑published ports so Traefik can reach the service across hosts; if none are found, it warns and you'd need L3 reachability to container IPs.
• If a router label doesn't specify traefik.http.routers.<name>.service and there's only one Traefik service defined on that container, Compose Farm wires the router to it.
• compose-farm.yaml stays unchanged: just hosts and services: service → host.

Example docker-compose.yml pattern:

services:
  plex:
    ports: ["32400:32400"]
    labels:
      - traefik.enable=true
      - traefik.http.routers.plex.rule=Host(`plex.lab.mydomain.org`)
      - traefik.http.routers.plex.entrypoints=websecure
      - traefik.http.routers.plex.tls.certresolver=letsencrypt
      - traefik.http.services.plex.loadbalancer.server.port=32400

One‑time Traefik setup

Enable a file provider watching a directory (any path is fine; a common choice is on your shared/NFS mount):

providers:
  file:
    directory: /mnt/data/traefik/dynamic.d
    watch: true

Generate the fragment

cf traefik-file --all --output /mnt/data/traefik/dynamic.d/compose-farm.yml

Re‑run this after changing Traefik labels, moving a service to another host, or changing published ports.

Auto-regeneration

To automatically regenerate the Traefik config after up, down, restart, or update, add traefik_file to your config:

compose_dir: /opt/compose
traefik_file: /opt/traefik/dynamic.d/compose-farm.yml  # auto-regenerate on up/down/restart/update
traefik_service: traefik  # skip services on same host (docker provider handles them)

hosts:
  # ...
services:
  traefik: server-1  # Traefik runs here
  plex: server-2     # Services on other hosts get file-provider entries
  # ...

The traefik_service option specifies which service runs Traefik. Services on the same host are skipped in the file-provider config since Traefik's docker provider handles them directly.

Now cf up plex will update the Traefik config automatically—no separate traefik-file command needed.

Combining with existing config

If you already have a dynamic.yml with manual routes, middlewares, etc., move it into the directory and Traefik will merge all files:

mkdir -p /opt/traefik/dynamic.d
mv /opt/traefik/dynamic.yml /opt/traefik/dynamic.d/manual.yml
cf traefik-file --all -o /opt/traefik/dynamic.d/compose-farm.yml

Update your Traefik config to use directory watching instead of a single file:

# Before
- --providers.file.filename=/dynamic.yml

# After
- --providers.file.directory=/dynamic.d
- --providers.file.watch=true

Comparison with Alternatives

There are many ways to run containers on multiple hosts. Here is where Compose Farm sits:

	Compose Farm	Docker Contexts	K8s / Swarm	Ansible / Terraform	Portainer / Coolify
No compose rewrites	✅	✅	❌	✅	✅
Version controlled	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌
State tracking	✅	❌	✅	✅	✅
Auto-migration	✅	❌	✅	❌	❌
Interactive CLI	✅	❌	❌	❌	❌
Parallel execution	✅	❌	✅	✅	✅
Agentless	✅	✅	❌	✅	❌
High availability	❌	❌	✅	❌	❌

Docker Contexts — You can use docker context create remote ssh://... and docker compose --context remote up. But it's manual: you must remember which host runs which service, there's no global view, no parallel execution, and no auto-migration.

Kubernetes / Docker Swarm — Full orchestration that abstracts away the hardware. But they require cluster initialization, separate control planes, and often rewriting compose files. They introduce complexity (consensus, overlay networks) unnecessary for static "pet" servers.

Ansible / Terraform — Infrastructure-as-Code tools that can SSH in and deploy containers. But they're push-based configuration management, not interactive CLIs. Great for setting up state, clumsy for day-to-day operations like cf logs -f or quickly restarting a service.

Portainer / Coolify — Web-based management UIs. But they're UI-first and often require agents on your servers. Compose Farm is CLI-first and agentless.

Compose Farm is the middle ground: a robust CLI that productizes the manual SSH pattern. You get the "cluster feel" (unified commands, state tracking) without the "cluster cost" (complexity, agents, control planes).

License

MIT