diff --git a/pkg/commands/docker.go b/pkg/commands/docker.go
index 0ce4fba1..b055441a 100644
--- a/pkg/commands/docker.go
+++ b/pkg/commands/docker.go
@@ -154,9 +154,25 @@ func NewDockerCommand(log *logrus.Entry, osCommand *OSCommand, tr *i18n.Translat
 		log.Warn(err.Error())
 	}
 
+	// When the user passes -p outside of a compose directory, treat it as the
+	// local project so the project/services panels still appear and filtering
+	// is applied. Inside a compose dir, LocalProjectName is derived from
+	// container labels later in RefreshContainersAndServices.
+	if !dockerCommand.InDockerComposeProject && config.ProjectName != "" {
+		dockerCommand.LocalProjectName = config.ProjectName
+	}
+
 	return dockerCommand, nil
 }
 
+// IsProjectScoped reports whether lazydocker should be scoped to a single
+// compose project — either because we're inside a compose directory or
+// because the user passed -p. When false, the project/services panels are
+// hidden and all containers are shown in a flat list.
+func (c *DockerCommand) IsProjectScoped() bool {
+	return c.InDockerComposeProject || c.Config.ProjectName != ""
+}
+
 func (c *DockerCommand) setDockerComposeCommand(config *config.AppConfig) {
 	if config.UserConfig.CommandTemplates.DockerCompose != "docker compose" {
 		return
diff --git a/pkg/gui/containers_panel.go b/pkg/gui/containers_panel.go
index 5410502d..f9254b94 100644
--- a/pkg/gui/containers_panel.go
+++ b/pkg/gui/containers_panel.go
@@ -87,11 +87,10 @@ func (gui *Gui) getContainersPanel() *panels.SideListPanel[*commands.Container]
 				return false
 			}
 
-			// Only apply project and standalone filtering when we are inside a
-			// docker-compose project. Outside of a compose project all
-			// containers are shown in a flat list regardless of which compose
-			// project they belong to.
-			if gui.DockerCommand.InDockerComposeProject {
+			// When project-scoped, apply project and standalone filtering.
+			// Otherwise all containers are shown in a flat list regardless
+			// of which compose project they belong to.
+			if gui.DockerCommand.IsProjectScoped() {
 				// This check must be inside the InDockerComposeProject guard:
 				// outside a compose project, services are still derived from
 				// container labels, so compose-managed containers from other
diff --git a/pkg/gui/project_panel.go b/pkg/gui/project_panel.go
index a7c6ef55..13e281ca 100644
--- a/pkg/gui/project_panel.go
+++ b/pkg/gui/project_panel.go
@@ -59,12 +59,7 @@ func (gui *Gui) getProjectPanel() *panels.SideListPanel[*commands.Project] {
 			return gui.renderContainersAndServices()
 		},
 		Hide: func() bool {
-			// Only show the project panel when we are inside a docker-compose
-			// project directory. When launched outside of a compose project
-			// there is no meaningful local project to display, so we hide the
-			// panel and let the containers panel show all containers in a flat
-			// list (matching the behaviour from before v0.25).
-			return !gui.DockerCommand.InDockerComposeProject
+			return !gui.DockerCommand.IsProjectScoped()
 		},
 	}
 }
@@ -195,6 +190,11 @@ func (gui *Gui) renderAllLogs(project *commands.Project) tasks.TaskFunc {
 }
 
 func (gui *Gui) renderDockerComposeConfig(project *commands.Project) tasks.TaskFunc {
+	if !gui.DockerCommand.InDockerComposeProject {
+		return gui.NewSimpleRenderStringTask(func() string {
+			return "Compose config is only available when launched from a docker-compose project directory"
+		})
+	}
 	if project != nil && project.Name != gui.DockerCommand.LocalProjectName {
 		return gui.NewSimpleRenderStringTask(func() string {
 			return "Compose config is not available for non-local projects"
diff --git a/pkg/gui/services_panel.go b/pkg/gui/services_panel.go
index 878eaa4b..edc894e9 100644
--- a/pkg/gui/services_panel.go
+++ b/pkg/gui/services_panel.go
@@ -90,12 +90,7 @@ func (gui *Gui) getServicesPanel() *panels.SideListPanel[*commands.Service] {
 			return presentation.GetServiceDisplayStrings(&gui.Config.UserConfig.Gui, service)
 		},
 		Hide: func() bool {
-			// Only show the services panel when we are inside a docker-compose
-			// project directory. When launched outside of a compose project
-			// there is no local project context, so the panel is hidden and
-			// all containers are shown in a flat list (matching pre-v0.25
-			// behaviour).
-			return !gui.DockerCommand.InDockerComposeProject
+			return !gui.DockerCommand.IsProjectScoped()
 		},
 	}
 }