Here’s a handy reference of the most important Docker commands you’ll use daily to build, run, and manage containers efficiently.
| Command | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
docker pull <image> | Download an image from a registry (e.g., Docker Hub) | docker pull nginx |
docker images | List all downloaded images | docker images |
docker rmi <image> | Remove one or more images | docker rmi nginx:latest |
| Command | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
docker run <image> | Create and start a container from an image | docker run nginx |
docker run -d -p 8080:80 nginx | Run container detached, map port 8080 to 80 | docker run -d -p 8080:80 nginx |
docker ps | List running containers | docker ps |
docker ps -a | List all containers, including stopped | docker ps -a |
docker stop <container_id> | Stop a running container | docker stop 4c01db0b339c |
docker start <container_id> | Start a stopped container | docker start 4c01db0b339c |
docker restart <container_id> | Restart a running container | docker restart 4c01db0b339c |
docker rm <container_id> | Remove a stopped container | docker rm 4c01db0b339c |
| Command | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
docker logs <container_id> | View logs from a container | docker logs 4c01db0b339c |
docker exec -it <container_id> sh | Open an interactive shell inside a running container | docker exec -it 4c01db0b339c sh |
docker inspect <container_id> | Get detailed JSON info about a container | docker inspect 4c01db0b339c |
| Command | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
docker version | Show Docker client and server version | docker version |
docker info | Show system-wide information about Docker | docker info |
docker network ls | List Docker networks | docker network ls |
docker volume ls | List Docker volumes | docker volume ls |
docker ps -a often to check for containers that you might want to clean up.p flag), the format is host_port:container_port.d) runs containers in the background.docker exec to troubleshoot running containers without stopping them.