Docker Compose for PHP + Redis
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.
This configuration has no database service. Add one with the generator above if your application needs to persist data — or keep it out if you're only prototyping stateless logic or a static/API-less layer.
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 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
compose.yml
services:
nginx:
image: nginx:latest
ports:
- "${WEB_PORT-8080}:80"
volumes:
- .:/var/www/html
- ./docker/nginx/default.conf:/etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf:ro
depends_on:
- php
php:
image: php:8.5-fpm
volumes:
- .:/var/www/html
redis:
image: redis:7
ports:
- "${REDIS_PORT-6379}:6379"
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 REDIS_PORT=6379