docker

CLI commands to build, run, manage containers, images, networks, volumes, compose, security, and swarm.

Containers

Commands for managing running and stopped containers.

List All Containers

Shows running containers by default or all containers.

docker ps -a

Use docker ps to list only running containers.

Start Stopped Container

Starts a stopped container instance.

docker start <container_id>

Example

docker start web_app

Stop Running Container

Gracefully stops a running container instance.

docker stop <container_id>

Example

docker stop web_app

Use docker kill to force stop.

Remove Stopped Container

Deletes a stopped container from disk.

docker rm <container_id>

Example

docker rm web_app

Run Interactive Container

Starts a container and opens a shell session.

docker run -it <image_name> <command>

Example

docker run -it ubuntu bash

Use --rm to automatically remove container after exit.

Execute Container Command

Runs a command inside a running container.

docker exec -it <container_id> <command>

Example

docker exec -it web_app bash

Copy Container Files

Copies files between a container and host filesystem.

docker cp <container_id>:<path> <destination>

Example

docker cp web_app:/app/logs.txt ./logs.txt

Inspect Container Metadata

Displays low-level metadata about a container.

docker inspect <container_id>

Example

docker inspect web_app

View Resource Statistics

Displays real-time CPU, memory, and I/O statistics.

docker stats

View Container Logs

Shows logs from a running container.

docker logs -f <container_id>

Example

docker logs -f web_app

Images and Building

Commands for managing and building container images.

List Local Images

Displays a list of all locally stored images.

docker images

Pull Remote Image

Downloads an image from a container registry.

docker pull <image_name>

Example

docker pull nginx:latest

Build Image From Dockerfile

Creates a Docker image from a local Dockerfile.

docker build -t <image_name> .

Example

docker build -t my-app .

Build Without Cache

Forces a fresh build without using cached layers.

docker build --no-cache -t <image_name> .

Example

docker build --no-cache -t my-app .

Build Custom Dockerfile

Specifies a custom Dockerfile for the build process.

docker build -f <dockerfile> -t <image_name> .

Example

docker build -f Dockerfile.prod -t my-app .

Remove Local Image

Deletes a Docker image from local storage.

docker rmi <image_id>

Example

docker rmi my-app

Build And Push Image

Builds and directly pushes the image to a registry.

docker buildx build --push --tag <registry>/<image>:<tag> .

Example

docker buildx build --push --tag myregistry.com/my-app:latest .

Volumes and Persistent Storage

Commands for managing volumes and persistent storage.

List Docker Volumes

Shows all provisioned Docker volumes.

docker volume ls

Create Persistent Volume

Creates a new persistent data volume.

docker volume create <volume_name>

Example

docker volume create pg_data

Remove Docker Volume

Deletes an unused Docker data volume.

docker volume rm <volume_name>

Example

docker volume rm pg_data

Run With Bind Mount

Mounts a host directory into a container.

docker run -v <host_path>:<container_path> <image_name>

Example

docker run -v /host/data:/app/data my-app

Networks and Custom Bridges

Commands for managing networks and custom bridge configurations.

List Docker Networks

Displays all active Docker networks.

docker network ls

Create Custom Bridge Network

Creates a custom user-defined bridge network.

docker network create --driver bridge <network_name>

Example

docker network create --driver bridge app_net

Connect Container To Network

Attaches a container to a specified network.

docker network connect <network_name> <container_id>

Example

docker network connect app_net web_app

Disconnect Container Network

Detaches a container from a network.

docker network disconnect <network_name> <container_id>

Example

docker network disconnect app_net web_app

Docker Compose

Commands for managing multi-container applications using Compose.

Start Compose Services

Starts all services defined in configuration files.

docker compose up -d

Stop Compose Services

Stops and removes active container services.

docker compose down

Restart Compose Services

Restarts all running multi-container services.

docker compose restart

View Compose Logs

Displays real-time logs for all services.

docker compose logs -f

List Compose Services

Shows all active services and container statuses.

docker compose ps

Execute Service Command

Runs a command inside a running service container.

docker compose exec <service_name> <command>

Example

docker compose exec app bash

Build Compose Services

Builds images for services defined in configuration.

docker compose build

Docker Security Best Practices

Commands and configurations for enforcing container security hardening.

Run As Non Root

Executes container processes using a non-root user ID.

docker run --user <uid>:<gid> <image_name>

Example

docker run --user 1000:1000 my-app

Scan Image Vulnerabilities

Analyzes container images for known security vulnerabilities.

docker scout quickview <image_name>

Example

docker scout quickview nginx:latest

Check Rootless Status

Verifies if the Docker daemon runs in rootless mode.

docker info --format '{{.SecurityOptions}}'

Look for rootless in security options output.

Docker Secrets

Commands for securely managing sensitive configuration data.

Create Docker Secret

Creates a new encrypted secret object in Swarm.

echo "<secret_value>" | docker secret create <secret_name> -

Example

echo "my_password" | docker secret create db_password -

List Docker Secrets

Displays all stored secret objects.

docker secret ls

Inspect Docker Secret

Displays low-level metadata of a secret object.

docker secret inspect <secret_name>

Example

docker secret inspect db_password

Remove Docker Secret

Deletes an existing secret object.

docker secret rm <secret_name>

Example

docker secret rm db_password

Docker Swarm Basics

Commands for orchestrating multi-node container clusters.

Initialize Docker Swarm

Initializes the current node as a Swarm manager.

docker swarm init

Join Swarm Cluster

Connects a worker or manager node to a cluster.

docker swarm join --token <token> <manager_ip>:<port>

Example

docker swarm join --token SWMTKN-1-xx 192.168.1.10:2377

List Swarm Nodes

Displays all nodes participating in the Swarm cluster.

docker node ls

Create Swarm Service

Deploys a replicated service across the Swarm.

docker service create --name <service_name> --replicas <num> <image_name>

Example

docker service create --name web --replicas 3 nginx

List Swarm Services

Displays all active services running in the Swarm.

docker service ls

System Cleanup

Commands for cleaning up unused system resources.

Remove Stopped Containers

Deletes all stopped containers to reclaim space.

docker container prune

Remove Unused Images

Deletes unreferenced dangling and unused images.

docker image prune

Remove Unused Volumes

Deletes orphaned volumes not used by containers.

docker volume prune

Remove Unused Networks

Cleans up unused custom networks.

docker network prune

View System Disk Usage

Displays disk space utilization by Docker objects.

docker system df