The answer, ironically, is `docker-compose` with the `-H` flag pointing to your podman socket.

Yes, I wrote that comment without researching the alternatives. Which is also a point: Ain't nobody (or at least somebody) got time for that.

Docker(compose) worked well for me for a long time. I'm chafing a little at the "run as root" problems, so I'm somewhat open to alternatives. I'm also a bit hesitant to relearn or run into problems I don't actually NEED to run into.

Like podman-compose? Seems to have the same cli. I think you cna install it with pip install podman-compose

docker-compose can work with podman running its socket service. There is also a podman-compose, which is mostly feature compatible. That said, the transition can be painful. Especially from root to rootless.

Just make a pod.yaml and run it with

podman pod play pod.yaml

I think that’s it. I’m on mobile at the moment.

Agree, I believe that the world should move to using Kubernetes YAML for running multiple container workloads. Whether you are running on a single node or in a kubernetes cluster. Docker-Compose while supported by Podman, does not allow you to easily migrate your applications to Kubernetes.