Docker Compose for PHP + MongoDB + Redis + Mailpit
A plain PHP setup gives complete control over your application with no framework overhead — ideal for learning Docker with PHP, running legacy codebases, or building lightweight applications with minimal dependencies.
MongoDB 7 is a document-oriented NoSQL database ideal for flexible schemas and horizontal scaling. It suits content-heavy applications, real-time data pipelines, and projects where the data model evolves rapidly during development.
Redis is an in-memory data store used for caching, sessions, and message queuing. Symfony Cache and Messenger, and Laravel Cache and Queues, all support Redis natively — making it the most common addition to any PHP development stack.
When should you use this stack?
PHP with MongoDB and Redis is a solid default for local development when your production environment matches it. If you're evaluating alternatives, the related configurations below swap one piece at a time — same framework with a different database, or the same data layer under a different framework — so you can compare without starting from scratch.
docker compose up -d
http://localhost:8080
http://localhost:8025
compose.yml
services:
nginx:
image: nginx:latest
ports:
- "${WEB_PORT-8080}:80"
volumes:
- .:/var/www/html
- ./docker/nginx/default.conf:/etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf:ro
depends_on:
- php
php:
image: php:8.5-fpm
volumes:
- .:/var/www/html
mongodb:
image: mongo:7
environment:
MONGO_INITDB_ROOT_USERNAME: ${MONGODB_INITDB_ROOT_USERNAME-app}
MONGO_INITDB_ROOT_PASSWORD: ${MONGODB_INITDB_ROOT_PASSWORD-secret}
MONGO_INITDB_DATABASE: ${MONGODB_INITDB_DATABASE-app}
ports:
- "${MONGODB_PORT-27017}:27017"
volumes:
- mongodb_data:/data/db
healthcheck:
test: ["CMD", "mongosh", "--eval", "db.adminCommand('ping')"]
interval: 10s
timeout: 5s
retries: 5
redis:
image: redis:7
ports:
- "${REDIS_PORT-6379}:6379"
mailpit:
image: axllent/mailpit
ports:
- "${MAILPIT_SMTP_PORT-1025}:1025"
- "${MAILPIT_UI_PORT-8025}:8025"
volumes:
mongodb_data:
docker/nginx/default.conf
Run mkdir -p docker/nginx first
server {
listen 80;
server_name localhost;
root /var/www/html;
index index.php index.html;
location / {
try_files $uri /index.php$is_args$args;
}
location ~ \.php$ {
fastcgi_pass php:9000;
fastcgi_index index.php;
include fastcgi_params;
fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
}
}
.env.example
Optional — Compose uses ${VAR-default} fallbacks
WEB_PORT=8080 MONGODB_PORT=27017 MONGODB_INITDB_ROOT_USERNAME=app MONGODB_INITDB_ROOT_PASSWORD=secret MONGODB_INITDB_DATABASE=app REDIS_PORT=6379 MAILPIT_SMTP_PORT=1025 MAILPIT_UI_PORT=8025