diff --git a/dockerfiles/swh-deposit/Dockerfile b/dockerfiles/swh-deposit/Dockerfile
index 04e2b93..e8b93b2 100644
--- a/dockerfiles/swh-deposit/Dockerfile
+++ b/dockerfiles/swh-deposit/Dockerfile
@@ -1,14 +1,16 @@
 FROM python:3.6
 
 RUN export DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive && \
   apt-get update && apt-get upgrade -y && \
-  apt-get install -y libsystemd-dev postgresql-client && \
+  apt-get install -y libsystemd-dev && \
+  apt-get install -y postgresql-client && \
+  apt-get install -y wait-for-it && \
   apt-get clean && \
   rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
 RUN pip install swh-deposit gunicorn
 RUN pip install psycopg2-binary  # to make pip silent
 
 COPY entrypoint.sh /
 EXPOSE 5006
 ENTRYPOINT ["/entrypoint.sh"]
diff --git a/dockerfiles/swh-deposit/entrypoint.sh b/dockerfiles/swh-deposit/entrypoint.sh
index 1f936a9..17b6def 100755
--- a/dockerfiles/swh-deposit/entrypoint.sh
+++ b/dockerfiles/swh-deposit/entrypoint.sh
@@ -1,41 +1,41 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 
 set -ex
 
 if [[ -d /src ]] ; then
     pwd
     for src_repo in /src/swh-* ; do
         pushd $src_repo
         echo "Installing ${src_repo}"
         pip install -e .
         popd
     done
 fi
 
 echo "${PGHOST}:5432:${POSTGRES_DB}:${PGUSER}:${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}" > ~/.pgpass
 cat > ~/.pg_service.conf <<EOF
 [swh-deposit]
 host=${PGHOST}
 port=5432
 dbname=${POSTGRES_DB}
 user=${PGUSER}
 EOF
 
 chmod 0600 ~/.pgpass
 
 if [ "$1" = 'shell' ] ; then
     exec bash -i
 else
     echo "Waiting for postgresql to start"
-    until psql postgresql:///?service=swh-deposit -c "select 1" > /dev/null 2> /dev/null; do sleep 0.1; done
+    wait-for-it swh-deposit-db:5432 -s --timeout=0
 
     echo "Migrating db"
     django-admin migrate --settings=swh.deposit.settings.production
 
     echo "starting swh-deposit server"
     exec gunicorn --bind 0.0.0.0:5006 \
                   --reload \
                   --log-level DEBUG \
                   --timeout 3600 \
                   swh.deposit.wsgi
 fi
diff --git a/dockerfiles/swh-indexer-storage/Dockerfile b/dockerfiles/swh-indexer-storage/Dockerfile
index 1e45985..a3d8fe4 100644
--- a/dockerfiles/swh-indexer-storage/Dockerfile
+++ b/dockerfiles/swh-indexer-storage/Dockerfile
@@ -1,13 +1,14 @@
 FROM python:3.6
 
 RUN export DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive && \
   apt-get update && \
-  apt-get install -y \
-    libsystemd-dev postgresql-client
+  apt-get install -y libsystemd-dev && \
+  apt-get install -y postgresql-client && \
+  apt-get install -y wait-for-it
 
 RUN pip install --upgrade pip setuptools wheel
 RUN pip install swh-indexer gunicorn
 
 COPY entrypoint.sh /
 
 ENTRYPOINT ["/entrypoint.sh"]
diff --git a/dockerfiles/swh-indexer-storage/entrypoint.sh b/dockerfiles/swh-indexer-storage/entrypoint.sh
index 95b58a2..b8ed698 100755
--- a/dockerfiles/swh-indexer-storage/entrypoint.sh
+++ b/dockerfiles/swh-indexer-storage/entrypoint.sh
@@ -1,50 +1,50 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 
 set -e
 export PATH=${HOME}/.local/bin:${PATH}
 
 if [[ -d /src ]] ; then
     for srcrepo in /src/swh-* ; do
         pushd $srcrepo
         echo "WARNING: $srcrepo will NOT be pip installed in dev mode"
         echo "         due to permission limitations."
         pip install --user .
         popd
     done
 fi
 
 echo Installed Python packages:
 pip list
 
 echo "${PGHOST}:5432:${POSTGRES_DB}:${PGUSER}:${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}" > ~/.pgpass
 cat > ~/.pg_service.conf <<EOF
 [swh-indexer]
 dbname=${POSTGRES_DB}
 host=${PGHOST}
 port=5432
 user=${PGUSER}
 EOF
 
 chmod 0600 ~/.pgpass
 
 case "$1" in
     "shell")
         exec bash -i
         ;;
     *)
 
     echo Waiting for postgresql to start
-    until psql postgresql:///?service=swh-indexer -c "select 1" 2>&1 > /dev/null; do sleep 0.1; done
+    wait-for-it swh-indexer-storage-db:5432 -s --timeout=0
 
     echo Setup the database
     PGPASSWORD=${POSTGRES_PASSWORD} swh-db-init indexer \
           --db-name ${POSTGRES_DB}
 
     echo Starting the swh-indexer-storage API server
     exec gunicorn --bind 0.0.0.0:5007 \
          --reload \
          --log-level DEBUG \
          --timeout 3600 \
          swh.indexer.storage.api.wsgi
     ;;
 esac
diff --git a/dockerfiles/swh-listers-worker/entrypoint.sh b/dockerfiles/swh-listers-worker/entrypoint.sh
index 7faf612..971e8ff 100755
--- a/dockerfiles/swh-listers-worker/entrypoint.sh
+++ b/dockerfiles/swh-listers-worker/entrypoint.sh
@@ -1,67 +1,69 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 
 set -e
 export PATH=${HOME}/.local/bin:${PATH}
 
 if [[ -d /src ]] ; then
     for srcrepo in /src/swh-* ; do
         pushd $srcrepo
         echo "WARNING: $srcrepo wil NOT be pip installed in dev mode"
         echo "         due to permission limitations."
         pip install --user .
         popd
     done
 fi
 
 echo Installed Python packages:
 pip list
 
 export POSTGRES_DB=swh-lister-${SWH_WORKER_INSTANCE}
 
 echo "${PGHOST}:5432:postgres:${PGUSER}:${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}" > ~/.pgpass
 echo "${PGHOST}:5432:${POSTGRES_DB}:${PGUSER}:${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}" >> ~/.pgpass
 cat > ~/.pg_service.conf <<EOF
 [swh]
 dbname=${POSTGRES_DB}
 host=${PGHOST}
 port=5432
 user=${PGUSER}
 EOF
 
 chmod 0600 ~/.pgpass
 
 
 case "$1" in
     "shell")
         exec bash -i
         ;;
     *)
-        echo Setup ${POSTGRES_DB} database for ${SWH_WORKER_INSTANCE}
+        echo Waiting for postgresql to start
+        wait-for-it swh-listers-db:5432 -s --timeout=0
 
+        echo Setup ${POSTGRES_DB} database for ${SWH_WORKER_INSTANCE}
         if psql -lqt | cut -d \| -f 1 | grep -qw ${POSTGRES_DB}; then
             echo Database already exists, nothing to do
         else
             echo Creating database
             createdb ${POSTGRES_DB}
 
             echo Initialize database
             python -m swh.lister.cli \
                    --db-url postgres://${PGUSER}@${PGHOST}/${POSTGRES_DB} \
                    all
         fi
 
         echo Waiting for RabbitMQ to start
         wait-for-it amqp:5672 -s --timeout=0
 
         echo Starting the swh-lister Celery worker for ${SWH_WORKER_INSTANCE}
         exec python -m celery worker \
                     --app=swh.scheduler.celery_backend.config.app \
                     --pool=prefork --events \
                     --concurrency=${CONCURRENCY} \
                     --maxtasksperchild=${MAX_TASKS_PER_CHILD} \
                     -Ofair --loglevel=${LOGLEVEL} --without-gossip \
                     --without-mingle \
                     --heartbeat-interval 10 \
                     --hostname "${SWH_WORKER_INSTANCE}@%h"
         ;;
 esac
diff --git a/dockerfiles/swh-scheduler-api/Dockerfile b/dockerfiles/swh-scheduler-api/Dockerfile
index 5bc3dad..f7f2495 100644
--- a/dockerfiles/swh-scheduler-api/Dockerfile
+++ b/dockerfiles/swh-scheduler-api/Dockerfile
@@ -1,15 +1,16 @@
 FROM python:3.6
 
 RUN export DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive && \
   apt-get update && \
-  apt-get install -y \
-    libsystemd-dev postgresql-client
+  apt-get install -y libsystemd-dev && \
+  apt-get install -y postgresql-client && \
+  apt-get install -y wait-for-it
 
 RUN pip install --upgrade pip setuptools wheel
 RUN pip install swh-scheduler gunicorn
 
 COPY entrypoint.sh /
 
 ENTRYPOINT ["/entrypoint.sh"]
 
 EXPOSE 5008
diff --git a/dockerfiles/swh-scheduler-api/entrypoint.sh b/dockerfiles/swh-scheduler-api/entrypoint.sh
index 9a3c0de..dc4033d 100755
--- a/dockerfiles/swh-scheduler-api/entrypoint.sh
+++ b/dockerfiles/swh-scheduler-api/entrypoint.sh
@@ -1,49 +1,49 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 
 set -e
 
 if [[ -d /src ]] ; then
     for srcrepo in /src/swh-* ; do
         pushd $srcrepo
         pip install -e .
         popd
     done
 fi
 
 echo Installed Python packages:
 pip list
 
 echo "${PGHOST}:5432:${POSTGRES_DB}:${PGUSER}:${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}" > ~/.pgpass
 cat > ~/.pg_service.conf <<EOF
 [swh-scheduler]
 dbname=${POSTGRES_DB}
 host=${PGHOST}
 port=5432
 user=${PGUSER}
 EOF
 
 chmod 0600 ~/.pgpass
 
 case "$1" in
     "shell")
         exec bash -i
         ;;
     "swh-scheduler")
         exec $@
         ;;
     *)
         echo Waiting for postgresql to start
-        until psql postgresql:///?service=swh-scheduler -c "select 1" 2>&1 > /dev/null; do sleep 0.1; done
+        wait-for-it swh-scheduler-db:5432 -s --timeout=0
 
         echo Setup the swh-scheduler API database
         PGPASSWORD=${POSTGRES_PASSWORD} swh-db-init scheduler \
                   --db-name ${POSTGRES_DB}
 
         echo Starting the swh-scheduler API server
         exec gunicorn --bind 0.0.0.0:5008 \
              --log-level DEBUG \
              --reload \
              --timeout 3600 \
              swh.scheduler.api.wsgi
 
 esac
diff --git a/dockerfiles/swh-storage/Dockerfile b/dockerfiles/swh-storage/Dockerfile
index 198e8f7..cf8a64f 100644
--- a/dockerfiles/swh-storage/Dockerfile
+++ b/dockerfiles/swh-storage/Dockerfile
@@ -1,15 +1,16 @@
 FROM python:3.6
 
 RUN export DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive && \
   apt-get update && \
-  apt-get install -y \
-    libsystemd-dev postgresql-client
+  apt-get install -y libsystemd-dev && \
+  apt-get install -y postgresql-client && \
+  apt-get install -y wait-for-it
 
 RUN pip install --upgrade pip setuptools wheel
 RUN pip install swh-storage gunicorn
 
 COPY entrypoint.sh /
 
 ENTRYPOINT ["/entrypoint.sh"]
 
 EXPOSE 5002
diff --git a/dockerfiles/swh-storage/entrypoint.sh b/dockerfiles/swh-storage/entrypoint.sh
index 90db8df..95a9619 100755
--- a/dockerfiles/swh-storage/entrypoint.sh
+++ b/dockerfiles/swh-storage/entrypoint.sh
@@ -1,46 +1,46 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 
 set -e
 
 if [[ -d /src ]] ; then
     for srcrepo in /src/swh-* ; do
       pushd $srcrepo
       pip install -e .
       popd
     done
 fi
 
 echo Installed Python packages:
 pip list
 
 echo "${PGHOST}:5432:${POSTGRES_DB}:${PGUSER}:${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}" > ~/.pgpass
 cat > ~/.pg_service.conf <<EOF
 [swh]
 dbname=${POSTGRES_DB}
 host=${PGHOST}
 port=5432
 user=${PGUSER}
 EOF
 
 chmod 0600 ~/.pgpass
 
 case "$1" in
     "shell")
       exec bash -i
       ;;
     *)
       echo Waiting for postgresql to start
-      until psql postgresql:///?service=swh -c "select 1" > /dev/null 2> /dev/null; do sleep 0.1; done
+      wait-for-it swh-storage-db:5432 -s --timeout=0
 
       echo Setup the database
       PGPASSWORD=${POSTGRES_PASSWORD} swh-db-init storage \
           --db-name ${POSTGRES_DB}
 
       echo Starting the swh-storage API server
       exec gunicorn --bind 0.0.0.0:5002 \
            --reload \
            --log-level DEBUG \
            --timeout 3600 \
            swh.storage.api.wsgi
       ;;
 esac
diff --git a/dockerfiles/swh-vault/Dockerfile b/dockerfiles/swh-vault/Dockerfile
index 826b3bf..293302d 100644
--- a/dockerfiles/swh-vault/Dockerfile
+++ b/dockerfiles/swh-vault/Dockerfile
@@ -1,13 +1,14 @@
 FROM python:3.6
 
 RUN export DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive && \
   apt-get update && \
-  apt-get install -y \
-    libsystemd-dev postgresql-client
+  apt-get install -y libsystemd-dev && \
+  apt-get install -y postgresql-client && \
+  apt-get install -y wait-for-it
 
 RUN pip install --upgrade pip setuptools wheel
 RUN pip install swh-vault
 
 COPY entrypoint.sh /
 
 ENTRYPOINT ["/entrypoint.sh"]
diff --git a/dockerfiles/swh-vault/entrypoint.sh b/dockerfiles/swh-vault/entrypoint.sh
index f7268c8..0e1599b 100755
--- a/dockerfiles/swh-vault/entrypoint.sh
+++ b/dockerfiles/swh-vault/entrypoint.sh
@@ -1,56 +1,57 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 
 set -e
 
 if [[ -d /src ]] ; then
     for srcrepo in /src/swh-* ; do
         pushd $srcrepo
         pip install -e .
         popd
     done
 fi
 
 echo Installed Python packages:
 pip list
 
 if [[ -n $PGHOST ]]; then
     echo "${PGHOST}:5432:${POSTGRES_DB}:${PGUSER}:${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}" > ~/.pgpass
     cat > ~/.pg_service.conf <<EOF
 [swh-vault]
 dbname=${POSTGRES_DB}
 host=${PGHOST}
 port=5432
 user=${PGUSER}
 EOF
 
     chmod 0600 ~/.pgpass
 fi
 
 case "$1" in
     "shell")
         exec bash -i
         ;;
     "worker")
         echo Starting the swh-vault Celery worker for
         exec python -m celery worker \
                     --app=swh.scheduler.celery_backend.config.app \
                     --pool=prefork --events \
                     --concurrency=${CONCURRENCY:-1} \
                     --maxtasksperchild=${MAX_TASKS_PER_CHILD:-10} \
                     -Ofair --loglevel=${LOGLEVEL:-INFO} --without-gossip \
                     --without-mingle --without-heartbeat \
                     --hostname "vault@%h"
         ;;
     "server")
         # ensure the pathslicing root dir for the cache exists
         mkdir -p /srv/softwareheritage/vault
+
         echo Waiting for postgresql to start
-        until psql postgresql:///?service=swh-vault -c "select 1" 2>&1 > /dev/null; do sleep 0.1; done
+        wait-for-it swh-vault-db:5432 -s --timeout=0
 
         echo Setup the swh-vault API database
         PGPASSWORD=${POSTGRES_PASSWORD} swh-db-init vault \
                   --db-name ${POSTGRES_DB}
 
         echo Starting the swh-vault API server
         exec swh-vault -C /vault-api.yml
 esac