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Docker Compose minimal

Fast local demo

This example runs the gateway and a tiny Python app together in one `docker compose` project.

Source code: github.com/lunargate-ai/gateway-examples/tree/main/docker-compose-minimal

Use this example when:

  • you want the fastest demo you can hand to another developer
  • you want both the gateway and a tiny app in one local stack
  • you want to avoid local bind-mount weirdness on remote Docker contexts

Need an even smaller start?
Use the Python basic example if you only need one SDK script and no containers.

Need a UI instead of an API?
Use the Streamlit compose example if you want a browser-based chat demo.

Best for

Use this example when you want:

  • a fast local demo
  • a gateway plus one real app container
  • a simple smoke-test environment for teammates

What it demonstrates

  • a published LunarGate image wrapped with a tiny local gateway.Dockerfile
  • config.yaml baked into the image during docker compose build
  • a tiny Flask API calling the gateway through the OpenAI SDK
  • health checks and smoke checks for both services

Why the wrapper image exists

Instead of bind-mounting config.yaml into the gateway container, this example builds a tiny wrapper image and copies the config into it.

That matters because it is more reliable when Docker is running on a remote context instead of directly on your laptop. It avoids the common macOS /Volumes/... bind-mount problem where the remote Docker host cannot see your local file path.

Tip

This wrapper-image pattern is worth reusing in your own examples and internal demos whenever the gateway config should travel with the image instead of depending on host-specific file paths.

Run it

cp .env.example .env
cp config-simple.yaml.example config.yaml
docker compose up --build

What you get

  • gateway: http://127.0.0.1:8080
  • demo app: http://127.0.0.1:8000

Smoke checks

curl http://127.0.0.1:8080/health
curl http://127.0.0.1:8080/v1/models

curl http://127.0.0.1:8000/health
curl -X POST http://127.0.0.1:8000/ask \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"prompt":"Say hello from docker compose."}'

What to inspect

  • docker-compose.yml for service wiring and ports
  • gateway.Dockerfile for the wrapper image pattern
  • app/app.py for the tiny Flask integration
  • config-simple.yaml.example for the smallest compose-friendly gateway config

When to choose this over the Python basic example

Pick this one if you want to share a demo with people who would rather run one compose command than install Python and Poetry locally.

  1. Read Streamlit chat in Docker Compose if you want the same local pattern but with a browser UI instead of a tiny API.
  2. Read Docker Compose if you want to build your own public minimal docker-compose.yaml instead of starting from this ready-made example.