The first thing with bash scripts is you need to use a type system. Enforce json as your configuration language. Then have error handling as part of a default shell function library that emits json. All you are doing then is passing bad returns to a function that can emit json and reviewing json configurations for shell script variable definitions. Don't do in shell scripts what you can do in terraform. Don't use ansible/salt/puppet for what can be done in shell scripts. Shell scripts and makefiles go to CI/CD agencies (Jenkins). Ansible, terraform, etc...go to services that specialize in these.

>Also what is the alternative?

Docker compose.

Or if we're getting wild pick a technology, use it across the company, and rely on language tools to establish the APIs between modules. Then deploy the application however the language provides.

>Docker compose. Swarm is a closer alternative, although it's future is unclear.

Another alternative is Nomad.