In general, this should work as you describe it. Tried to reproduce it, but it simply worked…
Folder structure:
.
├── docker-compose.yml
└── Dockerfile
Content of Dockerfile:
FROM alpine
CMD ["echo", "i am groot"]
Build and tag image:
docker build -t groot .
docker tag groot:latest groot:staging
with docker-compose.yml:
version: '3.1'
services:
groot:
image: groot:staging
and start docker-compose:
$ docker-compose up
Creating groot_groot ...
Creating groot_groot_1 ... done
Attaching to groot_groot_1
groot_1 | i am groot
groot_groot_1 exited with code 0