From the repository as is docker compose watch docker compose exec app bash ls -al empty directory /var/www/html With COPY . /var/www/html in Dockerfile add COPY . /var/www/html docker compose build app docker compose watch change index.html to whatever changes are reflected in container and in the browser (http://localhost:8080/index.html) kill watch docker compose down docker compose watch no changes made to index.html can be seen in container or in browser