diff --git a/.github/workflows/pr-external-dependency-unit-tests.yml b/.github/workflows/pr-external-dependency-unit-tests.yml
index 8d740ceedc9..74e983d6724 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/pr-external-dependency-unit-tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/pr-external-dependency-unit-tests.yml
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Set up Standard Dependencies
         run: |
           cd deployment/docker_compose
-          docker compose up -d minio relational_db cache index
+          docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.dev.yml up -d minio relational_db cache index
 
       - name: Wait for services
         run: |
diff --git a/.github/workflows/pr-integration-tests.yml b/.github/workflows/pr-integration-tests.yml
index dcf25ff3fb1..5737958a90a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/pr-integration-tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/pr-integration-tests.yml
@@ -262,7 +262,7 @@ jobs:
           IMAGE_TAG=test \
           INTEGRATION_TESTS_MODE=true \
           CHECK_TTL_MANAGEMENT_TASK_FREQUENCY_IN_HOURS=0.001 \
-          docker compose up \
+          docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.dev.yml up \
             relational_db \
             index \
             cache \
diff --git a/.github/workflows/pr-mit-integration-tests.yml b/.github/workflows/pr-mit-integration-tests.yml
index 15806e7fe2e..b20a74bac6b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/pr-mit-integration-tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/pr-mit-integration-tests.yml
@@ -258,7 +258,7 @@ jobs:
           DISABLE_TELEMETRY=true \
           IMAGE_TAG=test \
           INTEGRATION_TESTS_MODE=true \
-          docker compose up \
+          docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.dev.yml up \
             relational_db \
             index \
             cache \
diff --git a/deployment/docker_compose/docker-compose.dev.yml b/deployment/docker_compose/docker-compose.dev.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..16fec217632
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deployment/docker_compose/docker-compose.dev.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+# Docker Compose Override for Development/Testing
+# This file exposes service ports for development and testing purposes
+#
+# Usage:
+#   docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.dev.yml up -d
+#
+# Or set COMPOSE_FILE environment variable:
+#   export COMPOSE_FILE=docker-compose.yml:docker-compose.dev.yml
+#   docker compose up -d
+
+services:
+  api_server:
+    ports:
+      - "8080:8080"
+
+  relational_db:
+    ports:
+      - "5432:5432"
+
+  index:
+    ports:
+      - "19071:19071"
+      - "8081:8081"
+
+  cache:
+    ports:
+      - "6379:6379"
+
+  minio:
+    # use different ports to avoid conflicts with model servers
+    ports:
+      - "9004:9000"
+      - "9005:9001"
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/deployment/docker_compose/docker-compose.yml b/deployment/docker_compose/docker-compose.yml
index db99a130fd3..0044c3cb881 100644
--- a/deployment/docker_compose/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/deployment/docker_compose/docker-compose.yml
@@ -53,6 +53,9 @@ services:
       - inference_model_server
       - minio
     restart: unless-stopped
+    # DEV: To expose ports, either:
+    # 1. Use docker-compose.dev.yml: docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.dev.yml up -d
+    # 2. Uncomment the ports below
     # ports:
     #   - "8080:8080"
     environment:
@@ -228,6 +231,9 @@ services:
     environment:
       - POSTGRES_USER=${POSTGRES_USER:-postgres}
       - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=${POSTGRES_PASSWORD:-password}
+    # DEV: To expose ports, either:
+    # 1. Use docker-compose.dev.yml: docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.dev.yml up -d
+    # 2. Uncomment the ports below
     # ports:
     #   - "5432:5432"
     volumes:
@@ -239,6 +245,9 @@ services:
     restart: unless-stopped
     environment:
       - VESPA_SKIP_UPGRADE_CHECK=${VESPA_SKIP_UPGRADE_CHECK:-true}
+    # DEV: To expose ports, either:
+    # 1. Use docker-compose.dev.yml: docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.dev.yml up -d
+    # 2. Uncomment the ports below
     # ports:
     #   - "19071:19071"
     #   - "8081:8081"
@@ -286,6 +295,9 @@ services:
   cache:
     image: redis:7.4-alpine
     restart: unless-stopped
+    # DEV: To expose ports, either:
+    # 1. Use docker-compose.dev.yml: docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.dev.yml up -d
+    # 2. Uncomment the ports below
     # ports:
     #   - "6379:6379"
     # docker silently mounts /data even without an explicit volume mount, which enables
@@ -295,6 +307,9 @@ services:
   minio:
     image: minio/minio:RELEASE.2025-07-23T15-54-02Z-cpuv1
     restart: unless-stopped
+    # DEV: To expose ports, either:
+    # 1. Use docker-compose.dev.yml: docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.dev.yml up -d
+    # 2. Uncomment the ports below
     # ports:
     #   - "9004:9000"
     #   - "9005:9001"