diff --git a/Sources/Container-Compose/Codable Structs/DockerCompose.swift b/Sources/Container-Compose/Codable Structs/DockerCompose.swift
index dad3c6e..804d94d 100644
--- a/Sources/Container-Compose/Codable Structs/DockerCompose.swift	
+++ b/Sources/Container-Compose/Codable Structs/DockerCompose.swift	
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@
 //  Created by Morris Richman on 6/17/25.
 //
 
-
 /// Represents the top-level structure of a docker-compose.yml file.
 public struct DockerCompose: Codable {
     /// The Compose file format version (e.g., '3.8')
@@ -38,15 +37,17 @@ public struct DockerCompose: Codable {
     public let configs: [String: Config?]?
     /// Optional top-level secret definitions (primarily for Swarm)
     public let secrets: [String: Secret?]?
-    
+    /// Optional includes of other compose files
+    public let includes: [DockerInclude]?
+
     public init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
         let container = try decoder.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
         version = try container.decodeIfPresent(String.self, forKey: .version)
         name = try container.decodeIfPresent(String.self, forKey: .name)
         services = try container.decode([String: Service?].self, forKey: .services)
-        
-        if let volumes = try container.decodeIfPresent([String: Optional<Volume>].self, forKey: .volumes) {
-            let safeVolumes: [String : Volume] = volumes.mapValues { value in
+
+        if let volumes = try container.decodeIfPresent([String: Volume?].self, forKey: .volumes) {
+            let safeVolumes: [String: Volume] = volumes.mapValues { value in
                 value ?? Volume()
             }
             self.volumes = safeVolumes
@@ -56,5 +57,74 @@ public struct DockerCompose: Codable {
         networks = try container.decodeIfPresent([String: Network?].self, forKey: .networks)
         configs = try container.decodeIfPresent([String: Config?].self, forKey: .configs)
         secrets = try container.decodeIfPresent([String: Secret?].self, forKey: .secrets)
+        includes = try container.decodeIfPresent([DockerInclude].self, forKey: .includes)
+    }
+
+    public init(
+        version: String? = nil,
+        name: String? = nil,
+        services: [String: Service?],
+        volumes: [String: Volume?]? = nil,
+        networks: [String: Network?]? = nil,
+        configs: [String: Config?]? = nil,
+        secrets: [String: Secret?]? = nil,
+        includes: [DockerInclude]? = nil
+    ) {
+        self.version = version
+        self.name = name
+        self.services = services
+        self.volumes = volumes
+        self.networks = networks
+        self.configs = configs
+        self.secrets = secrets
+        self.includes = includes
+    }
+
+    /// Merges another DockerCompose into this one, with the other taking precedence in case of conflicts.
+    /// - Parameter with: The DockerCompose to merge into this one.
+    /// - Returns: A new DockerCompose instance representing the merged result.
+    public func merge(with: DockerCompose) -> DockerCompose {
+        // Merge services
+        var mergedServices = self.services
+        for (key, service) in with.services {
+            mergedServices[key] = service
+        }
+
+        // Merge volumes
+        var mergedVolumes = self.volumes ?? [:]
+        if let withVolumes = with.volumes {
+            for (key, volume) in withVolumes {
+                mergedVolumes[key] = volume
+            }
+        }
+
+        // Merge networks
+        var mergedNetworks = self.networks ?? [:]
+        if let withNetworks = with.networks {
+            for (key, network) in withNetworks {
+                mergedNetworks[key] = network
+            }
+        }
+
+        return DockerCompose(
+            version: with.version ?? self.version,
+            name: with.name ?? self.name,
+            services: mergedServices,
+            volumes: mergedVolumes.isEmpty ? nil : mergedVolumes,
+            networks: mergedNetworks.isEmpty ? nil : mergedNetworks,
+            configs: with.configs ?? self.configs,
+            secrets: with.secrets ?? self.secrets,
+            includes: with.includes ?? self.includes
+        )
+    }
+}
+
+public struct DockerInclude: Codable {
+    // The file to include
+    let file: String
+
+    public init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
+        let container = try decoder.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
+        file = try container.decode(String.self, forKey: .file)
     }
 }
diff --git a/Sources/Container-Compose/Commands/ComposeDown.swift b/Sources/Container-Compose/Commands/ComposeDown.swift
index 9108900..38b92d4 100644
--- a/Sources/Container-Compose/Commands/ComposeDown.swift
+++ b/Sources/Container-Compose/Commands/ComposeDown.swift
@@ -67,16 +67,7 @@ public struct ComposeDown: AsyncParsableCommand {
         }
 
         // Read docker-compose.yml content
-        guard let yamlData = fileManager.contents(atPath: composePath) else {
-            let path = URL(fileURLWithPath: composePath)
-                .deletingLastPathComponent()
-                .path
-            throw YamlError.composeFileNotFound(path)
-        }
-
-        // Decode the YAML file into the DockerCompose struct
-        let dockerComposeString = String(data: yamlData, encoding: .utf8)!
-        let dockerCompose = try YAMLDecoder().decode(DockerCompose.self, from: dockerComposeString)
+        let dockerCompose = try fileManager.loadComposeFile(composePath: composePath)
 
         // Determine project name for container naming
         if let name = dockerCompose.name {
diff --git a/Sources/Container-Compose/Commands/ComposeUp.swift b/Sources/Container-Compose/Commands/ComposeUp.swift
index 4b6adc6..00ebd84 100644
--- a/Sources/Container-Compose/Commands/ComposeUp.swift
+++ b/Sources/Container-Compose/Commands/ComposeUp.swift
@@ -91,16 +91,7 @@ public struct ComposeUp: AsyncParsableCommand, @unchecked Sendable {
         }
 
         // Read compose.yml content
-        guard let yamlData = fileManager.contents(atPath: composePath) else {
-            let path = URL(fileURLWithPath: composePath)
-                .deletingLastPathComponent()
-                .path
-            throw YamlError.composeFileNotFound(path)
-        }
-
-        // Decode the YAML file into the DockerCompose struct
-        let dockerComposeString = String(data: yamlData, encoding: .utf8)!
-        let dockerCompose = try YAMLDecoder().decode(DockerCompose.self, from: dockerComposeString)
+        let dockerCompose = try fileManager.loadComposeFile(composePath: composePath)
 
         // Load environment variables from .env file
         environmentVariables = loadEnvFile(path: envFilePath)
diff --git a/Sources/Container-Compose/Helper Functions.swift b/Sources/Container-Compose/Helper Functions.swift
index 9e38521..a785d2f 100644
--- a/Sources/Container-Compose/Helper Functions.swift	
+++ b/Sources/Container-Compose/Helper Functions.swift	
@@ -21,10 +21,10 @@
 //  Created by Morris Richman on 6/17/25.
 //
 
+import ContainerCommands
 import Foundation
-import Yams
 import Rainbow
-import ContainerCommands
+import Yams
 
 /// Loads environment variables from a .env file.
 /// - Parameter path: The full path to the .env file.
@@ -63,28 +63,41 @@ public func loadEnvFile(path: String) -> [String: String] {
 public func resolveVariable(_ value: String, with envVars: [String: String]) -> String {
     var resolvedValue = value
     // Regex to find ${VAR}, ${VAR:-default}, ${VAR:?error}
-    let regex = try! NSRegularExpression(pattern: #"\$\{([A-Za-z0-9_]+)(:?-(.*?))?(:\?(.*?))?\}"#, options: [])
-    
+    let regex = try! NSRegularExpression(
+        pattern: #"\$\{([A-Za-z0-9_]+)(:?-(.*?))?(:\?(.*?))?\}"#, options: [])
+
     // Combine process environment with loaded .env file variables, prioritizing process environment
-    let combinedEnv = ProcessInfo.processInfo.environment.merging(envVars) { (current, _) in current }
-    
+    let combinedEnv = ProcessInfo.processInfo.environment.merging(envVars) { (current, _) in current
+    }
+
     // Loop to resolve all occurrences of variables in the string
-    while let match = regex.firstMatch(in: resolvedValue, options: [], range: NSRange(resolvedValue.startIndex..<resolvedValue.endIndex, in: resolvedValue)) {
+    while let match = regex.firstMatch(
+        in: resolvedValue, options: [],
+        range: NSRange(resolvedValue.startIndex..<resolvedValue.endIndex, in: resolvedValue))
+    {
         guard let varNameRange = Range(match.range(at: 1), in: resolvedValue) else { break }
         let varName = String(resolvedValue[varNameRange])
-        
+
         if let envValue = combinedEnv[varName] {
             // Variable found in environment, replace with its value
-            resolvedValue.replaceSubrange(Range(match.range(at: 0), in: resolvedValue)!, with: envValue)
+            resolvedValue.replaceSubrange(
+                Range(match.range(at: 0), in: resolvedValue)!, with: envValue)
         } else if let defaultValueRange = Range(match.range(at: 3), in: resolvedValue) {
             // Variable not found, but default value is provided, replace with default
             let defaultValue = String(resolvedValue[defaultValueRange])
-            resolvedValue.replaceSubrange(Range(match.range(at: 0), in: resolvedValue)!, with: defaultValue)
-        } else if match.range(at: 5).location != NSNotFound, let errorMessageRange = Range(match.range(at: 5), in: resolvedValue) {
+            resolvedValue.replaceSubrange(
+                Range(match.range(at: 0), in: resolvedValue)!, with: defaultValue)
+        } else if match.range(at: 5).location != NSNotFound,
+            let errorMessageRange = Range(match.range(at: 5), in: resolvedValue)
+        {
             // Variable not found, and error-on-missing syntax used, print error and exit
             let errorMessage = String(resolvedValue[errorMessageRange])
-            fputs("Error: Missing required environment variable '\(varName)': \(errorMessage)\n", stderr)
-            Application.exit(withError: "Error: Missing required environment variable '\(varName)': \(errorMessage)\n")
+            fputs(
+                "Error: Missing required environment variable '\(varName)': \(errorMessage)\n",
+                stderr)
+            Application.exit(
+                withError:
+                    "Error: Missing required environment variable '\(varName)': \(errorMessage)\n")
         } else {
             // Variable not found and no default/error specified, leave as is and break loop to avoid infinite loop
             break
@@ -93,6 +106,34 @@ public func resolveVariable(_ value: String, with envVars: [String: String]) ->
     return resolvedValue
 }
 
+extension FileManager {
+    public func loadComposeFile(composePath: String) throws -> DockerCompose {
+        // Read YAML
+        guard let yamlData = contents(atPath: composePath) else {
+            let path = URL(fileURLWithPath: composePath)
+                .deletingLastPathComponent()
+                .path
+            throw YamlError.composeFileNotFound(path)
+        }
+
+        // Decode the YAML file into the DockerCompose struct
+        let dockerComposeString = String(data: yamlData, encoding: .utf8)!
+        var dockerCompose = try YAMLDecoder().decode(DockerCompose.self, from: dockerComposeString)
+
+        // Loop through includes and load additional files
+
+        if let includes = dockerCompose.includes {
+            for include in includes {
+                let included = try loadComposeFile(composePath: include.file)
+                // Merge into main dockerCompose
+                dockerCompose = dockerCompose.merge(with: included)
+            }
+        }
+
+        return dockerCompose
+    }
+}
+
 extension String: @retroactive Error {}
 
 /// A structure representing the result of a command-line process execution.