I've just moved on from docker compose. Instead I have a K8s like yaml file and use podman kube play. The learning curve is pretty small in my opinion and at least it is a little closer to production.
In my ideal world everyone would use kubernetes, it is the hammer and everything is a nail, but we must recognize that it is difficult for a lot of people to pick up.
That being said, if you’re deploying on kube in production, use kube locally. But if you’re not, dont
I'm not arguing for the relative superiority of jsonnet vs yaml vs anything else. I just recognise that Docker Compose is loved by most open source developers. And invariably any project you touch will have a docker compose setup by default.
I'm just making it possible to run those on kubernetes seamlessly.
if you ever wanna try it again - use kappal. you will get a full k8s but with the UX of docker compose.