---
title: Compose Develop Specification
description: Learn about the Compose Develop Specification
keywords: compose, compose specification, compose file reference, compose develop specification
aliases:
 - /compose/compose-file/develop/
weight: 150
---

> [!NOTE] 
>
> Develop is an optional part of the Compose Specification. It is available with Docker Compose version 2.22.0 and later.

{{% include "compose/develop.md" %}}

This page defines how Compose behaves to efficiently assist you and defines the development constraints and workflows set by Compose. Only a subset of Compose file services may require a `develop` subsection.

## Illustrative example

```yaml
services:
  frontend:
    image: example/webapp
    build: ./webapp
    develop:
      watch: 
        # sync static content
        - path: ./webapp/html
          action: sync
          target: /var/www
          ignore:
            - node_modules/

  backend:
    image: example/backend
    build: ./backend
    develop:
      watch: 
        # rebuild image and recreate service
        - path: ./backend/src
          action: rebuild
```

## Attributes

<!-- vale Docker.HeadingSentenceCase = NO ) -->

The `develop` subsection defines configuration options that are applied by Compose to assist you during development of a service with optimized workflows.

### `watch`

The `watch` attribute defines a list of rules that control automatic service updates based on local file changes. `watch` is a sequence, each individual item in the sequence defines a rule to be applied by 
Compose to monitor source code for changes. For more information, see [Use Compose Watch](/manuals/compose/how-tos/file-watch.md).

#### `action`

`action` defines the action to take when changes are detected. If `action` is set to:

- `rebuild`: Compose rebuilds the service image based on the `build` section and recreates the service with the updated image.
- `restart`: Compose restarts the service container. Available with Docker Compose version 2.32.0 and later.
- `sync`: Compose keeps the existing service container(s) running, but synchronizes source files with container content according to the `target` attribute.
- `sync+restart`: Compose synchronizes source files with container content according to the `target` attribute, and then restarts the container. Available with Docker Compose version 2.23.0 and later.
- `sync+exec`: Compose synchronizes source files with container content according to the `target` attribute, and then executes a command inside the container. Available with Docker Compose version 2.32.0 and later.

#### `exec`

{{< summary-bar feature_name="Compose exec" >}}

`exec` is only relevant when `action` is set to `sync+exec`. Like [service hooks](services.md#post_start), `exec` is used to define the command to be run inside the container once it has started.