Dockerfile volume: local changes are not reflected in docker - docker

Question

I am using docker-compose to create a multi-container environment where I have one mongodb instance and two python applications. I am having trouble when I am changing my files locally, but docker-compose up doesn't reflect the changes I made in my file. What am I doing wrong?
My project structure:
.
├── docker-compose.yml
├── form
│   ├── app.py
│   ├── Dockerfile
│   ├── requirements.txt
│   ├── static
│   └── templates
│   ├── form_action.html
│   └── form_sumbit.html
├── notify
│   ├── app.py
│   ├── Dockerfile
│   ├── requirements.txt
└── README
Dockerfiles are pretty similar for two apps. One is given below:
FROM python:2.7
ADD . /notify
WORKDIR /notify
RUN pip install -r requirements.txt
Here is my docker-compose.yml file:
version: '3'
services:
db:
image: mongo:3.0.2
container_name: mongo
networks:
db_net:
ipv4_address: 172.16.1.1
web:
build: form
command: python -u app.py
ports:
- "5000:5000"
volumes:
- form:/form
environment:
MONGODB_HOST: 172.16.1.1
networks:
db_net:
ipv4_address: 172.16.1.2
notification:
build: notify
command: python -u app.py
volumes:
- notify:/notify
environment:
MONGODB_HOST: 172.16.1.1
networks:
db_net:
ipv4_address: 172.16.1.3
networks:
db_net:
external: true
volumes:
form:
notify:
Here is my output for docker volume ps:
local form
local healthcarereminder_form
local healthcarereminder_notify
local notify
[My understanding till now: You can see there are two instances of form and notify, with one having project folder name appended. So docker might be looking for changes in a different file. I am not sure.]

Answer 1

If you're trying to mount a host directory in the docker-compose file do not declare notify as a VOLUME directive.
Instead treat it like a local folder
notification:
build: notify
command: python -u app.py
volumes:
# this points to a relative ./notify directory.
- ./notify:/notify
environment:
....
volumes:
form:
#do not declare the volume here.
# notify:
When you were declare a VOLUME node at the bottom of the docker-compose file, docker makes an special internal directory meant to be shared between docker images. Here is more details: https://docs.docker.com/engine/tutorials/dockervolumes/#add-a-data-volume