Docker Container Operations

This section covers essential Docker commands for managing the lifecycle of containers, from creation and starting to stopping, restarting, and removing them. Understanding these commands is fundamental for any developer working with containerized applications.

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
docker run <image>	Start a new container from an image
docker run -it <image>	Start a new container in interactive mode
docker run --rm <image>	Start a new container and remove it when it exits
docker create <image>	Create a new container
docker start <container>	Start a container
docker stop <container>	Graceful stop a container
docker kill <container>	Kill (SIGKILL) a container
docker restart <container>	Graceful stop and restart a container
docker pause <container>	Suspend a container
docker unpause <container>	Resume a container
docker rm <container>	Destroy a container

Bulk Container Management Commands

Efficiently manage multiple Docker containers simultaneously with these bulk operations. This is particularly useful for cleaning up environments or performing actions on all running or stopped containers.

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
docker stop $(docker ps -q)	To stop all the running containers
docker stop $(docker ps -a -q)	To stop all the stopped and running containers
docker kill $(docker ps -q)	To kill all the running containers
docker kill $(docker ps -a -q)	To kill all the stopped and running containers
docker restart $(docker ps -q)	To restart all running containers
docker restart $(docker ps -a -q)	To restart all the stopped and running containers
docker rm $(docker ps -q)	To destroy all running containers
docker rm $(docker ps -a -q)	To destroy all the stopped and running containers
docker pause $(docker ps -q)	To pause all running containers
docker pause $(docker ps -a -q)	To pause all the stopped and running containers
docker start $(docker ps -q)	To start all running containers
docker start $(docker ps -a -q)	To start all the stopped and running containers
docker rm -vf $(docker ps -a -q)	To delete all containers including their volumes
docker rmi -f $(docker images -a -q)	To delete all the images
docker system prune	To delete all dangling and unused images, containers, cache and volumes
docker system prune -a	To delete all used and unused images
docker system prune --volumes	To delete all docker volumes

Inspecting Docker Containers

Gain deep insights into your Docker containers' status, logs, and processes. These inspection commands are crucial for debugging and monitoring your applications.

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
docker ps	List running containers
docker ps --all	List all containers, including stopped
docker logs <container>	Show a container output
docker logs -f <container>	Follow a container output
docker logs -f <container> 2>&1 | grep string-to-search	Follow container logs and search for specific string occurrence
docker top <container>	List the processes running in a container
docker diff	Show the differences with the image (modified files)
docker inspect	Show information of a container (json formatted)

Executing Commands within Containers

Interact with your running containers by executing commands, copying files, and exporting their contents. This section details how to run commands and manage data transfer.

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
docker attach <container>	Attach to a container
docker cp <container>:<container-path> <host-path>	Copy files from the container
docker cp <host-path> <container>:<container-path>	Copy files into the container
docker export <container>	Export the content of the container (tar archive)
docker exec <container>	Run a command inside a container
docker exec -it <container> /bin/bash	Open an interactive shell inside a container (there is no bash in some images, use /bin/sh)
docker wait <container>	Wait until the container terminates and return the exit code

Docker Image Management

Learn how to list, inspect, tag, commit, import, and remove Docker images. This section covers pulling images from registries and pushing your own creations.

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
docker image ls	List all local images
docker history <image>	Show the image history
docker inspect <image>	Show information (json formatted)
docker tag <image> <tag>	Tag an image
docker commit <container> <image>	Create an image (from a container)
docker import <url>	Create an image (from a tarball)
docker rmi <image>	Delete images
docker pull <user>/<repository>:<tag>	Pull an image from a registry
docker push <user>/<repository>:<tag>	Push an image to a registry
docker search <test>	Search an image on the official registry
docker login	Login to a registry
docker logout	Logout from a registry
docker save <user>/<repository>:<tag>	Export an image/repo as a tarball
docker load	Load images from a tarball

Docker Volume Management

Manage persistent data for your containers using Docker volumes. This section details how to list, create, inspect, remove, and prune volumes, as well as how to back up and restore container data.

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
docker volume ls	List all volumes
docker volume create <volume>	Create a volume
docker volume inspect <volume>	Show information (json formatted)
docker volume rm <volume>	Destroy a volume
docker volume ls --filter="dangling=true"	List all dangling volumes (not referenced by any container)
docker volume prune	Delete all volumes (not referenced by any container)
docker run --rm --volumes-from <container> -v $(pwd):/backup busybox tar cvfz /backup/backup.tar.gz <container-path>	Backup a container
docker run --rm --volumes-from <container> -v $(pwd):/backup busybox sh -c "cd <container-path> && tar xvfz /backup/backup.tar.gz --strip 1"	Restore a container from backup

For more in-depth information on Docker, refer to the official Docker CLI reference and explore best practices on Stack Overflow.