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+# Ridgeback Docker‑Compose Overview
+
+This document explains the `compose.yml` configuration used to run Ridgeback. It covers each service, its purpose, key environment variables, and how the components interact.
+
+## Service Overview
+
+| Service                    | Purpose                                                                                                                   |
+| -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
+| `ridgeback_create_volumes` | Create host directories (postgres, logs, celery, rabbitmq, server, logrotate) with the correct UID/GID.                   |
+| `ridgeback_postgres`       | PostgreSQL database instance for Ridgeback.                                                                               |
+| `ridgeback_memcached`      | Memcached cache server.                                                                                                   |
+| `ridgeback_rabbitmq`       | RabbitMQ message broker with management UI.                                                                               |
+| `ridgeback`                | Django application that hosts the Ridgeback web interface and API.                                                        |
+| `ridgeback_celery_beat`    | Celery beat scheduler that triggers periodic tasks.                                                                       |
+| `ridgeback_celery_*_queue` | Various Celery workers that process different task queues (command, action, status, submit‑job, set‑permission, cleanup). |
+| `ridgeback_logrotate`      | Periodically rotates application logs.                                                                                    |
+| `ridgeback_db_backup`      | Schedules regular database backups.                                                                                       |
+
+---
+
+### 1. Database & Cache Services
+
+| Service               | Image                              | Key Environment Variables                           | Notes                                                    |
+| --------------------- | ---------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- |
+| `ridgeback_postgres`  | `postgres:17`                      | `POSTGRES_USER`, `POSTGRES_PASSWORD`, `POSTGRES_DB` | Exposes port `${RIDGEBACK_DB_PORT}`                      |
+| `ridgeback_memcached` | `mskcc/memcached-nc:1.6.39`        | `RIDGEBACK_MEMCACHED_PORT`                          | Exposes port `${RIDGEBACK_MEMCACHED_PORT}`               |
+| `ridgeback_rabbitmq`  | `rabbitmq:4.0.6-management-alpine` | `RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_USER`, `RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_PASS`    | Management UI on `${RIDGEBACK_RABBITMQ_MANAGEMENT_PORT}` |
+
+All three depend on the volume‑creation service.
+
+### 2. Celery Workers & Beat
+
+All workers share the anchor `x-ridgeback_celery` for common settings (image, user, network, env_file, volumes). Each worker overrides the `command` to start its specific queue.
+
+| Worker                                  | Queue                                | Concurrency | Command                                |
+| --------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------ | ----------- | -------------------------------------- |
+| `ridgeback_celery_beat`                 | N/A (beat)                           | 1           | Starts Celery beat with schedule file. |
+| `ridgeback_celery_command_queue`        | `${RIDGEBACK_COMMAND_QUEUE}`         | 30          | Worker for command queue.              |
+| `ridgeback_celery_action_queue`         | `${RIDGEBACK_ACTION_QUEUE}`          | 10          | Worker for action queue.               |
+| `ridgeback_celery_check_status_queue`   | `${RIDGEBACK_CHECK_STATUS_QUEUE}`    | 10          | Worker for status checks.              |
+| `ridgeback_celery_submit_job_queue`     | `${RIDGEBACK_SUBMIT_JOB_QUEUE}`      | 5           | Worker for job submission.             |
+| `ridgeback_celery_set_permission_queue` | `${RIDGEBACK_SET_PERMISSIONS_QUEUE}` | 10          | Worker for permission setting.         |
+| `ridgeback_celery_cleanup_queue`        | `${RIDGEBACK_CLEANUP_QUEUE}`         | 2           | Worker for cleanup tasks.              |
+
+All depend on PostgreSQL, Memcached, RabbitMQ, and `ridgeback_celery_beat` for health.
+
+### 5. Auxiliary Services
+
+| Service               | Image                               | Purpose                                     |
+| --------------------- | ----------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- |
+| `ridgeback_logrotate` | `mskcc/voyager-compose-utils:1.0.0` | Rotates logs weekly                         |
+| `ridgeback_db_backup` | Same image                          | Schedules database backups using `pg_dump`. |
+
+Both depend on the beat and command‑queue workers.
+
+### 6. Network
+
+- **`voyager_net`** – Bridge network shared by all services and also [Beagle](https://github.com/mskcc/beagle)
+
+## Key Environment Variables
+
+| Variable                                                                   | Description                                     |
+| -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- |
+| `RIDGEBACK_VERSION`                                                        | Docker image tag for Ridgeback.                 |
+| `DOCKER_UID`, `DOCKER_GID`                                                 | UID/GID for container processes.                |
+| `RIDGEBACK_DB_USERNAME`, `_PASSWORD`, `_NAME`                              | PostgreSQL credentials.                         |
+| `RIDGEBACK_RABBITMQ_USERNAME`, `_PASSWORD`                                 | RabbitMQ credentials.                           |
+| `CLUSTER_FILESYSTEM_MOUNT`, `CLUSTER_SCRATCH_MOUNT`, `CLUSTER_ADMIN_MOUNT` | Bind mounts for cluster file system access.     |
+| `CLUSTER_CODE_PATH`                                                        | Path for the ridgeback code base on the cluster |
+| `LOGROTATE_*`, `DB_BACKUP_*`                                               | Log rotation and backup scheduling options.     |