diff --git a/compose.d/.gitkeep b/compose.d/.gitkeep
deleted file mode 100644
index e69de29bb..000000000
diff --git a/compose.d/00-goclaw.yml b/compose.d/00-goclaw.yml
deleted file mode 120000
index 5c8318efc..000000000
--- a/compose.d/00-goclaw.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-../docker-compose.yml
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/compose.options/11-postgres.yml b/compose.options/11-postgres.yml
deleted file mode 120000
index 618529b52..000000000
--- a/compose.options/11-postgres.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-../docker-compose.postgres.yml
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/compose.options/12-selfservice.yml b/compose.options/12-selfservice.yml
deleted file mode 120000
index 6c90b043b..000000000
--- a/compose.options/12-selfservice.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-../docker-compose.selfservice.yml
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/compose.options/13-upgrade.yml b/compose.options/13-upgrade.yml
deleted file mode 120000
index cfcde769d..000000000
--- a/compose.options/13-upgrade.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-../docker-compose.upgrade.yml
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/compose.options/14-browser.yml b/compose.options/14-browser.yml
deleted file mode 120000
index eff2597a2..000000000
--- a/compose.options/14-browser.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-../docker-compose.browser.yml
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/compose.options/15-otel.yml b/compose.options/15-otel.yml
deleted file mode 120000
index 91959568e..000000000
--- a/compose.options/15-otel.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-../docker-compose.otel.yml
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/compose.options/16-redis.yml b/compose.options/16-redis.yml
deleted file mode 120000
index ff53cce53..000000000
--- a/compose.options/16-redis.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-../docker-compose.redis.yml
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/compose.options/17-sandbox.yml b/compose.options/17-sandbox.yml
deleted file mode 120000
index 671aa3300..000000000
--- a/compose.options/17-sandbox.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-../docker-compose.sandbox.yml
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/compose.options/18-tailscale.yml b/compose.options/18-tailscale.yml
deleted file mode 120000
index 945eb09b4..000000000
--- a/compose.options/18-tailscale.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-../docker-compose.tailscale.yml
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/options/postgres/postgres-low-cpu.yml b/options/postgres/postgres+low-cpu.yml
similarity index 100%
rename from options/postgres/postgres-low-cpu.yml
rename to options/postgres/postgres+low-cpu.yml
diff --git a/prepare-compose.sh b/prepare-compose.sh
index c3ff50dfe..34ce4eb8a 100755
--- a/prepare-compose.sh
+++ b/prepare-compose.sh
@@ -1,59 +1,52 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
-# Generates COMPOSE_FILE from compose.d/*.yml
+# Generates COMPOSE_FILE from .env-compose selection, writes to .env
 set -euo pipefail
 
 SCRIPT="${BASH_SOURCE[0]}"
 SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${SCRIPT}")" && pwd)"
-ENV_FILE="${GOCLAW_ENV_FILE:-$SCRIPT_DIR/.env}"
+ENV_FILE="$SCRIPT_DIR/.env"
+ENV_COMPOSE="$SCRIPT_DIR/.env-compose"
+EDITOR="${EDITOR:-${VISUAL:-nano}}"
 
 loud() {
   [[ "${QUIET:-false}" != true ]] && echo "$@"
   true
 }
 
-# Show help
-if [[ "${1:-}" == "--help" || "${1:-}" == "-h" ]]; then
-  echo "Usage: $SCRIPT [--quiet] [--skip-validation]"
-  echo ""
-  echo "  --quiet           Suppress normal output"
-  echo "  --skip-validation Skip docker compose config validation"
-  echo ""
-  echo "  Generates COMPOSE_FILE from compose.d/*.yml files (sorted)"
-  echo "  Updates .env with the resulting COMPOSE_FILE value"
-  echo ""
-  echo "Note: docker-compose reads .env automatically"
-  echo "      for podman-compose: source .env first"
-  exit 0
-fi
-
-# Parse flags
-SKIP_VALIDATION=false
-for arg in "$@"; do
-  case "$arg" in
-    --quiet) QUIET=true ;;
-    --skip-validation) SKIP_VALIDATION=true ;;
-  esac
-done
-
-cd "$SCRIPT_DIR" >/dev/null 2>&1
+# Find all compose yml files in root dir and options/ subdirectory
+find_compose_files() {
+  local dir="$1"
+  (
+    find "$dir" -maxdepth 1 -name "*.yml" 2>/dev/null
+    if [[ -d "$dir/options" ]]; then
+      find "$dir/options" -maxdepth 2 -name "*.yml" 2>/dev/null
+    fi
+  ) | sort
+}
 
-[[ ! -f "docker-compose.yml" ]] && echo "docker-compose.yml not found" && exit 1
+# Check if a file is a compose file by content
+is_compose_file() {
+  [[ "$1" == *.yml ]] || return 1
+  grep -q "^services:\|^networks:\|^volumes:" "$1" 2>/dev/null
+}
 
-# Build COMPOSE_FILE from compose.d files (sorted)
-COMPOSE_FILE=""
-for f in compose.d/*.yml; do
-  [[ -e "$f" ]] && COMPOSE_FILE="$COMPOSE_FILE${COMPOSE_FILE:+:}$f"
-done
-export COMPOSE_FILE
+# Categorize a compose file by filename only
+# . = service, + = overlay, otherwise = root
+categorize_compose() {
+  local name="${1%.yml}"
+  [[ "$name" == *+* ]] && echo "overlay" && return
+  [[ "$name" == *.* ]] && echo "service" && return
+  echo "root"
+}
 
-# Validate compose files
-if [[ "$SKIP_VALIDATION" != true ]]; then
-  DOCKER_CMD="${DOCKER_CMD:-docker}"
-  $DOCKER_CMD compose config > /dev/null 2>&1 || { echo "Compose config validation failed"; exit 1; }
-  loud "Compose config valid"
-fi
+# Read current COMPOSE_FILE from .env, return colon-separated list
+read_compose_file() {
+  if [[ -f "$ENV_FILE" ]]; then
+    grep "^COMPOSE_FILE=" "$ENV_FILE" 2>/dev/null | head -1 | sed 's/^COMPOSE_FILE=//' | tr -d "'"
+  fi
+}
 
-# Update a key=value line in .env safely (via temp file)
+# Update a key=value line in .env safely
 update_env() {
   local key="$1" value="$2"
   if grep -q "^${key}=" "$ENV_FILE" 2>/dev/null; then
@@ -63,14 +56,220 @@ update_env() {
   fi
 }
 
-# Update .env with COMPOSE_FILE and GOCLAW_DIR
-if [[ -f "$ENV_FILE" ]]; then
-  update_env "COMPOSE_FILE" "$COMPOSE_FILE"
-  update_env "GOCLAW_DIR" "$SCRIPT_DIR"
-  loud "COMPOSE_FILE updated in $ENV_FILE"
-  loud "  COMPOSE_FILE=$COMPOSE_FILE"
-else
-  loud "File not found: $ENV_FILE"
+# Write COMPOSE_FILE to .env
+write_compose_file() {
+  update_env "COMPOSE_FILE" "$1"
+  loud "COMPOSE_FILE='$1'"
+}
+
+# Generate .env-compose from available files and current selection
+do_generate() {
+  local current_compose="${1:-}"
+  local line
+
+  echo "# Docker Compose file picker"
+  echo "# Lines starting with # are disabled"
+  echo "# Remove # to enable a file"
+  echo ""
+
+  local roots="" services="" overlays=""
+
+  while IFS= read -r line; do
+    [[ -z "$line" ]] && continue
+    if is_compose_file "$line"; then
+      local cat=$(categorize_compose "$line")
+      local rel="${line#$SCRIPT_DIR/}"
+      local enabled="# "
+      if [[ -n "$current_compose" && "$current_compose" == *"$rel"* ]]; then
+        enabled=""
+      fi
+      case "$cat" in
+        root) roots="${roots}${roots:+$'\n'}${enabled}${rel}" ;;
+        service) services="${services}${services:+$'\n'}${enabled}${rel}" ;;
+        overlay) overlays="${overlays}${overlays:+$'\n'}${enabled}${rel}" ;;
+      esac
+    fi
+  done < <(find_compose_files "$SCRIPT_DIR")
+
+  if [[ -n "$roots" ]]; then
+    echo "# === ROOT (required) ==="
+    echo "$roots"
+    echo ""
+  fi
+  if [[ -n "$services" ]]; then
+    echo "# === SERVICE (optional) ==="
+    echo "$services"
+    echo ""
+  fi
+  if [[ -n "$overlays" ]]; then
+    echo "# === OVERLAY (optional) ==="
+    echo "$overlays"
+  fi
+}
+
+# Parse enabled files from .env-compose (uncommented, non-empty lines)
+do_parse() {
+  local result=""
+  local line
+
+  while IFS= read -r line || [[ -n "$line" ]]; do
+    line="${line#"${line%%[![:space:]]*}"}"  # trim leading whitespace
+    [[ -z "$line" || "$line" == \#* ]] && continue
+    line="${line#\# }"  # remove "# " prefix
+    [[ -z "$line" || "$line" == \#* ]] && continue
+    [[ -n "$result" ]] && result="${result}:"
+    result="${result}${line}"
+  done < "$ENV_COMPOSE"
+
+  echo "$result"
+}
+
+# Apply selection from .env-compose to .env
+do_update() {
+  if [[ ! -f "$ENV_COMPOSE" ]]; then
+    echo "No .env-compose found. Run '$SCRIPT --generate' first."
+    exit 1
+  fi
+
+  local selection
+  selection=$(do_parse)
+
+  if [[ -z "$selection" ]]; then
+    echo "No compose files selected in .env-compose"
+  fi
+
+  write_compose_file "$selection"
+  loud "Done. COMPOSE_FILE=$selection"
+}
+
+# Validate compose files with docker/podman compose config
+do_check() {
+  if [[ ! -f "$ENV_COMPOSE" ]]; then
+    echo "No .env-compose found"
+    exit 1
+  fi
+
+  # Source .env to get COMPOSE_FILE
+  set -a
+  source "$ENV_FILE" 2>/dev/null || true
+  set +a
+
+  local engine="${DOCKER_CMD:-docker}"
+  if ! command -v "$engine" &>/dev/null; then
+    echo "$engine not found"
+    exit 1
+  fi
+
+  if "$engine" compose config >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    echo "✓ Compose config valid"
+    exit 0
+  else
+    echo "✗ Compose config invalid"
+    "$engine" compose config 2>&1 | head -5
+    exit 1
+  fi
+}
+
+# Open editor, then apply
+do_edit() {
+  if [[ ! -f "$ENV_COMPOSE" ]]; then
+    loud "Regenerating $ENV_COMPOSE..."
+    local current
+    current=$(read_compose_file)
+    do_generate "$current" > "$ENV_COMPOSE"
+  fi
+
+  if ! "$EDITOR" "$ENV_COMPOSE"; then
+    echo "Editor failed (EDITOR=$EDITOR)"
+    exit 1
+  fi
+
+  do_update
+  do_check
+}
+
+# Show help
+show_help() {
+  cat << EOF
+Usage: $SCRIPT [--quiet] [--generate] [--update] [--edit] [--check] [--file <file>]
+
+  --generate   Create/replace .env-compose from available compose files
+  --edit        Open .env-compose in \$EDITOR, then apply to .env
+  --update      Apply current .env-compose to .env
+  --check       Validate compose config using \$DOCKER_CMD (default: docker)
+  --file <f>    Copy <f> to .env-compose (-f also works)
+  --quiet       Suppress normal output
+
+  Finds all compose *.yml files under this directory.
+  Reads .env-compose for file selection (uncommented lines = enabled).
+  Writes resulting COMPOSE_FILE to .env
+
+  .env-compose format:
+    docker-compose.yml   # enabled
+    # docker-compose.postgres.yml  # disabled (commented)
+EOF
+  exit 0
+}
+
+# Main
+QUIET=false
+GENERATE=false
+UPDATE=false
+EDIT=false
+CHECK=false
+NEXT_FILE=""
+
+for arg in "$@"; do
+  if [[ "$NEXT_FILE" ]]; then
+    cp "$arg" "$ENV_COMPOSE"
+    echo "Copied $arg to $ENV_COMPOSE"
+    NEXT_FILE=""
+    UPDATE=true
+    CHECK=true
+  else
+    case "$arg" in
+      --quiet) QUIET=true ;;
+      --generate) GENERATE=true ;;
+      --update) UPDATE=true ;;
+      --edit) EDIT=true ;;
+      --check) CHECK=true ;;
+      --help|-h) show_help ;;
+      --file|-f) NEXT_FILE="yes" ;;
+      --file=*|-f=*)
+        src="${arg#--file=}"
+        src="${src#-f=}"
+        cp "$src" "$ENV_COMPOSE"
+        echo "Copied $src to $ENV_COMPOSE"
+        UPDATE=true
+        CHECK=true
+        ;;
+      *) echo "Unknown: $arg" ;;
+    esac
+  fi
+done
+
+cd "$SCRIPT_DIR" >/dev/null 2>&1
+
+# No args = help (unless FILE was set, which auto-sets UPDATE/CHECK)
+if [[ "$GENERATE" == false && "$UPDATE" == false && "$EDIT" == false && "$CHECK" == false ]]; then
+  show_help
 fi
 
-loud "(run '${SCRIPT} --help' for help)"
+if [[ "$GENERATE" == true ]]; then
+  loud "Generating $ENV_COMPOSE..."
+  current=$(read_compose_file)
+  do_generate "$current" > "$ENV_COMPOSE"
+  loud "Generated $ENV_COMPOSE"
+fi
+
+if [[ "$EDIT" == true ]]; then
+  do_edit
+fi
+
+if [[ "$UPDATE" == true ]]; then
+  do_update
+fi
+
+if [[ "$CHECK" == true ]]; then
+  do_check
+fi