Docker management commands are used to manage Docker containers, images, networks, volumes, and much more. Using these commands, you can interact with the Docker daemon and run containers, build and push images, manage networks and volumes, and perform many other tasks. Docker management commands allow developers and system administrators to manage Docker resources and automate various container-related tasks.
| Command | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Container Commands | ||
| docker create | Create a new container from an image. | docker create ubuntu:latest |
| docker start | Start with one or more stop containers. | docker start my-container |
| docker stop | Stop running one or more containers. | docker stop my-container |
| docker restart | Restart one or more running containers. | docker restart my-container |
| docker pause | Pause the process inside a running container. | docker pause my-container |
| docker unpause | Unpause the process inside a paused container. | docker unpause my-container |
| docker rename | Rename the container. | docker rename my-container new-container-name |
| docker rm | Remove one or more containers. | docker rm my-container |
| docker ps | List the running containers on the host. | docker ps |
| docker stats | Display real-time resource usage statistics for one or more containers. | docker stats my-container |
| docker top | Display the processes running inside a container. | docker top my-container |
| docker logs | Display the logs generated by the container. | docker logs my-container |
| Image Commands | ||
| docker pull | This command is used to pull an image from a Docker registry. | docker pull ubuntu:latest |
| docker build | This command is used to build a new Docker image from a Dockerfile. | docker build -t my-image. |
| docker push | This command is used to push a Docker image to a Docker registry. | docker push my-image |
| docker tag | This command is used to tag a Docker image with a new name or version. | docker tag my-image my-image:latest |
| docker rmi | This command is used to remove one or more Docker images. | docker rmi my-image |
| docker images | This command is used to list the Docker images available on the host. | docker images |
| docker history | This command is used to display the history of a Docker image. | docker history my-image |
| docker save | This command is used to save a Docker image to a tar archive. | docker save my-image -o my-image.tar |
| docker load | This command is used to load a Docker image from a tar archive. | docker load -i my-image.tar |
| Network Commands | ||
| docker network create | Create a new Docker network | docker network create my-network |
| docker network connect | Connect a container to a Docker network | docker network connect my-network my-container |
| docker network disconnect | Disconnect the container from the Docker network | docker network disconnect my-network my-container |
| docker network ls | List the Docker networks on the host | docker network ls |
| docker network inspect | Display detailed information about the Docker network | docker network inspect my-network |
| docker network rm | Remove Docker network | docker network rm my-network |
| Volume Commands | ||
| docker volume create | This command is used to create a new Docker volume. | docker volume create my-volume |
| docker volume ls | This command is used to list the Docker volumes on the host. | docker volume ls |
| docker volume inspect | This command is used to display detailed information about a Docker volume. | docker volume inspect my-volume |
| docker volume rm | This command is used to remove a Docker volume. | docker volume rm my-volume |
| docker run -v | This option is used to create and mount a volume to a container at runtime. | docker run -v my-volume:/app/data my-image |
| docker inspect -f '{{ .Mounts }}' | This command is used to display the mount information of a container, including the volume(s) it's using. | docker inspect -f '{{ .Mounts }}' my-container |
| System Commands | ||
| docker version | This command displays the Docker version information that is currently installed on the system. | docker version |
| docker info | This command displays Docker system-wide information, including the number of running containers, images, and storage driver information. | docker info |
| docker events | This command shows the real-time events from the Docker daemon, such as container creation, deletion, or network creation. | docker events |
| docker system df | This command shows the disk usage of the Docker system, including space used by images, containers, and volumes. | docker system df |
| docker system prune | This command is used to free up disk space by removing all unused resources, including containers, images, volumes, and networks. | docker system prune |
| docker login | This command is used to log in to a Docker registry. You need to authenticate it before pushing or pulling images. | docker login |
| docker logout | This command is used to log out from the Docker registry. | docker logout |
| Docker Compose Commands | ||
| docker-compose up | Create and start all containers defined in the Compose file. | docker-compose up |
| docker-compose down | Stop and remove all containers defined in the Compose file. | docker-compose down |
| docker-compose build | Build or rebuild the services defined in the Compose file. | docker-compose build |
| docker-compose start | Start all containers defined in the Compose file. | docker-compose start |
| docker-compose stop | Stop all containers defined in the Compose file. | docker-compose stop |
| docker-compose logs | Displays the logs of all containers defined in the Compose file. | docker-compose logs |
| Docker Swarm Commands | ||
| docker swarm init | Initialize a new Docker Swarm cluster on the current Docker host. | docker swarm init --advertise-addr <manager-node-ip-address> |
| docker swarm join | Join a Docker Swarm cluster as a worker node or manager node. | docker swarm join --token <join-token> <manager-node-ip-address>:<port> |
| docker swarm leave | Leave the Docker Swarm cluster by stopping and removing the node from the cluster. | docker swarm leave --force |
| docker stack deploy | Deploy the Docker stack to the Docker Swarm cluster. | docker stack deploy --compose-file <docker-compose-file> <stack-name> |
| docker service rm | Remove the service from the Docker Swarm cluster. | docker service rm <service-name> |
| docker service create | Creates a new service in the Docker Swarm cluster. | docker service create --name <service-name> --replicas <number-of-replicas> <image-name> |
| docker service ls | List all services in the Docker Swarm cluster. | docker service ls |
| Registry Commands | ||
| docker login | Log in to the Docker registry server. | docker login myregistry.com |
| docker logout | Log out from the Docker registry server. | docker logout myregistry.com |
| docker search | Searches for an image on Docker Hub or other registries. | docker search nginx |
| docker pull | Pull an image from the registry to your local machine. | docker pull nginx |
| docker push | Push an image from your local machine to register. | docker push myregistry.com/myimage:tag |
| docker tag | Tags an image with a new name and/or tag. | docker tag myimage myregistry.com/myimage:tag |
| Debugging Commands | ||
| docker ps | This command lists all the running containers with their details such as container ID, image used, command, status, etc. | docker ps |
| docker logs | This command shows the logs of a container. | docker logs container_name |
| docker exec | This command is used to execute a command inside a running container. | docker exec container_name ls -l / |
| docker inspect | This command is used to get detailed information about a container or an image. | docker inspect container_name |
| docker port | This command is used to list the port mappings of a container. | docker port container_name |
| docker top | This command is used to see the processes running inside a container. | docker top container_name |
| Dockerfile Commands | ||
| FROM | set the base image to build the Dockerfile. | FROM ubuntu:latest |
| RUN | run the command during the image building process. | RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y curl |
| COPY | copy files and directories from the host into the Docker image. | COPY app /app |
| CMD | specifies the default command to run the container starts. | CMD ["node", "app.js"] |
| WORKDIR | set the working directory for any RUN, CMD, ENTRYPOINT, COPY, or ADD commands that follow it. | WORKDIR /app |
| ENV | sets of environmental variables that can be used during the image building process or when the container is running. | ENV NODE_ENV production |
| EXPOSE | document the ports that the container listens to at runtime. | EXPOSE 8080 |
| VOLUME | create a mount point for the volume in the container. | VOLUME /data |
| USER | set the user or UID to where the container should run as. | USER node |
| Multi-Stage Build Commands | ||
| FROM | Specify the base image to start the build process. | FROM alpine:latest |
| WORKDIR | Set a working directory for any RUN, CMD, ENTRYPOINT, COPY, and ADD commands that follow it. | WORKDIR /app |
| COPY | Copying files or directories from the build context into the container. Suitable for multiple uses. | COPY app.py /app/ |
| RUN | Executes a command inside the container during build time. | RUN pip install -r requirements.txt |
| ARG | Declares a variable that can be passed on to the Docker build command using --build-arg. | ARG version |
| CMD or ENTRYPOINT | During container startup, both are Dockerfile instructions that specify what command to run. | ["python", "app.py"] |
| ENV | Sets environment variables for the container. | ENV FLASK_APP=app.py |
| LABEL | Label describes an image or container as a key-value pair. | LABEL <'key'>=<'value'> |
| Health Check Commands | ||
| HEALTHCHECK | Using this command, you can check the health of a container. | HEALTHCHECK --interval=5m --timeout=3s CMD curl -f http://localhost/ || exit 1 |
| docker inspect --format='{{json .State.Health}}' <container> | Using this command, you can inspect a container's health status and get detailed information about its current state. | docker inspect --format='{{json .State.Health}}' my-container |
| docker container ls --filter health=unhealthy | This command is used to list all containers that have a failed health check. | docker container ls --filter health=unhealthy |
| Config Commands | ||
| docker config create | Creates a new config with the specified name and content. | docker config create myconfig myconfig.txt |
| docker config inspect | Displays detailed information about the config. | docker config inspect myconfig |
| docker config ls | List all configs. | docker config ls |
| docker config rm | Remove one or more configs. | docker config rm myconfig |
| docker config update | Updates the config with new content. | docker config update myconfig myconfig-updated.txt |
| docker service create | Create a new service with one or more configs. | docker service create --name myservice --config source=myconfig,target=/app/config.txt myimage |
| docker service update | Update a service with one or more configs. | docker service update --config-rm myoldconfig --config-add mynewconfig myservice |
| Buildx Commands | ||
| docker buildx ls | List all the available builders. | docker buildx ls |
| docker buildx create | Creates a new builder instance. | docker buildx create --name mybuilder |
| docker buildx use | Sets the current builder context. | docker buildx use mybuilder |
| docker buildx inspect | Displays detailed information about the current builder instance. | docker buildx inspect --bootstrap |
| docker buildx build | Builds an image using the current builder context. | docker buildx build --platform linux/amd64,linux/arm64 -t myimage:latest |
