[BUG] v2.24.0 fails on "Circular reference" error on extended services with dependencies

[stekycz]

Description

Docker Compose started failing recently on Circular reference error. It happens when I extended a service from another compose file which contains more service definitions (even those I am not suing in the specific place) and the new file states dependencies among services.

Steps To Reproduce

1. Create a file docker-compose-base.yml

services:
  a:
    image: busybox
  b:
    image: busybox
  c:
    image: busybox

2. Create file docker-compose.yml

services:
  a:
    extends:
      file: ./docker-compose-base.yml
      service: a
  b:
    extends:
      file: ./docker-compose-base.yml
      service: b
    depends_on:
      a:
        condition: service_started

3. Run docker compose create
   Example error I would get

Circular reference:
    b in docker-compose.yml
    extends a in docker-compose-base.yml
    extends c in docker-compose-base.yml
    extends a in docker-compose.yml
    extends c in docker-compose-base.yml

Compose Version

2.24.0

Docker Environment

No response

Anything else?

No response

[asaurer]

Has anyone come up with a workaround (other than downgrading to 2.23)? Our CI is based on creating a compose config for our Docker Swarm by running docker compose -f ${DOCKER_COMPOSE_FILE} config --no-interpolate --output /tmp/docker-compose.swarm.yml which causes the same error as documented above.

[ndeloof]

Closing as a duplicate for #11343

Has anyone come up with a workaround

there's no workaround, a bug-fix release will come soon

Our CI is based on creating a compose config for our Docker Swarm

Why not just let docker stack parse your compose file ? Please note Swarm is not compliant with the compose specification, so combining compose and swarm can bring troubles

[asaurer]

Why not just let docker stack parse your compose file ? Please note Swarm is not compliant with the compose specification, so combining compose and swarm can bring troubles

Exactly as you say: docker stack does not support the full syntax, but with docker compose config we generate a compose file that contains a file with the parts of the syntax we need (we only need the extends syntax to remove duplication in our config files).

[ndeloof]

right, docker stack indeed doesn't support extends :'(
anyway, compose config output might not be compatible with it as the file format evolves, and we won't maintain a second compose parser. See docker/cli#2527