diff --git a/apps/dokploy/__test__/compose/compose-project-directory.test.ts b/apps/dokploy/__test__/compose/compose-project-directory.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a117de5b2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/dokploy/__test__/compose/compose-project-directory.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+import { createCommand } from "@dokploy/server/utils/builders/compose";
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+
+const base = {
+	composeType: "docker-compose" as const,
+	appName: "compose-app",
+	sourceType: "github" as const,
+	command: "",
+};
+
+describe("compose createCommand --project-directory", () => {
+	it("pins --project-directory to the code dir when composePath is nested", () => {
+		const cmd = createCommand(
+			{ ...base, composePath: "./deploy/docker-compose.yml" } as any,
+			"/etc/dokploy/compose/compose-app/code",
+		);
+
+		expect(cmd).toContain(
+			"--project-directory /etc/dokploy/compose/compose-app/code",
+		);
+		expect(cmd).toContain("-f ./deploy/docker-compose.yml");
+	});
+
+	it("omits --project-directory when no projectPath is passed", () => {
+		const cmd = createCommand({
+			...base,
+			composePath: "./deploy/docker-compose.yml",
+		} as any);
+
+		expect(cmd).not.toContain("--project-directory");
+	});
+
+	it("does not add --project-directory to stack deploy (unsupported flag)", () => {
+		const cmd = createCommand(
+			{
+				...base,
+				composeType: "stack",
+				composePath: "./deploy/docker-compose.yml",
+			} as any,
+			"/etc/dokploy/compose/compose-app/code",
+		);
+
+		expect(cmd).not.toContain("--project-directory");
+		expect(cmd.startsWith("stack deploy")).toBe(true);
+	});
+
+	it("keeps raw sourceType resolving from the code dir (root docker-compose.yml)", () => {
+		const cmd = createCommand(
+			{ ...base, sourceType: "raw", composePath: "docker-compose.yml" } as any,
+			"/etc/dokploy/compose/compose-app/code",
+		);
+
+		expect(cmd).toContain(
+			"--project-directory /etc/dokploy/compose/compose-app/code",
+		);
+		expect(cmd).toContain("-f docker-compose.yml");
+	});
+});
diff --git a/apps/dokploy/server/api/routers/compose.ts b/apps/dokploy/server/api/routers/compose.ts
index 50614c7ef..cfd272f43 100644
--- a/apps/dokploy/server/api/routers/compose.ts
+++ b/apps/dokploy/server/api/routers/compose.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import { join } from "node:path";
 import {
 	addDomainToCompose,
 	clearOldDeployments,
@@ -32,6 +33,7 @@ import {
 	updateCompose,
 	updateDeploymentStatus,
 } from "@dokploy/server";
+import { paths } from "@dokploy/server/constants";
 import { db } from "@dokploy/server/db";
 import { canEditDeployGitSource } from "@dokploy/server/services/git-provider";
 import {
@@ -547,7 +549,9 @@ export const composeRouter = createTRPCRouter({
 				service: ["create"],
 			});
 			const compose = await findComposeById(input.composeId);
-			const command = createCommand(compose);
+			const { COMPOSE_PATH } = paths(!!compose.serverId);
+			const projectPath = join(COMPOSE_PATH, compose.appName, "code");
+			const command = createCommand(compose, projectPath);
 			return `docker ${command}`;
 		}),
 	refreshToken: protectedProcedure
diff --git a/packages/server/src/utils/builders/compose.ts b/packages/server/src/utils/builders/compose.ts
index 31e610847..6d58c7398 100644
--- a/packages/server/src/utils/builders/compose.ts
+++ b/packages/server/src/utils/builders/compose.ts
@@ -21,11 +21,11 @@ export const getBuildComposeCommand = async (rawCompose: ComposeNested) => {
 	const compose = await withResolvedVaultRefs(rawCompose);
 	const { COMPOSE_PATH } = paths(!!compose.serverId);
 	const { sourceType, appName, mounts, composeType, domains } = compose;
-	const command = createCommand(compose);
+	const projectPath = join(COMPOSE_PATH, compose.appName, "code");
+	const command = createCommand(compose, projectPath);
 	const envCommand = compose.createEnvFile
 		? getCreateEnvFileCommand(compose)
 		: "";
-	const projectPath = join(COMPOSE_PATH, compose.appName, "code");
 	const exportEnvCommand = getExportEnvCommand(compose);
 
 	const newCompose = await writeDomainsToCompose(compose, domains);
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ const sanitizeCommand = (command: string) => {
 	return restCommand.join(" ");
 };
 
-export const createCommand = (compose: ComposeNested) => {
+export const createCommand = (compose: ComposeNested, projectPath?: string) => {
 	const { composeType, appName, sourceType } = compose;
 	if (compose.command) {
 		return `${sanitizeCommand(compose.command)}`;
@@ -130,7 +130,10 @@ export const createCommand = (compose: ComposeNested) => {
 	let command = "";
 
 	if (composeType === "docker-compose") {
-		command = `compose -p ${quote([appName])} -f ${quote([path])} up -d --build --remove-orphans`;
+		const projectDirectoryFlag = projectPath
+			? `--project-directory ${quote([projectPath])} `
+			: "";
+		command = `compose -p ${quote([appName])} ${projectDirectoryFlag}-f ${quote([path])} up -d --build --remove-orphans`;
 	} else if (composeType === "stack") {
 		command = `stack deploy -c ${quote([path])} ${quote([appName])} --prune --with-registry-auth`;
 	}