30 Docker Commands to Manage Containers

Feb 15, 2024 - 3 min read - 461 words

It’s been five years since I started using Docker in production. Over time, I’ve become familiar with its API for packaging and distributing my applications. Daily use—whether writing a Dockerfile, running containers, or debugging issues—makes you internalize its API, which is actually quite intuitive.

I’ll group the commands according to their use:

Docker Installation and Setup

docker —version
Terminal window
```
docker --version
```
Shows the installed version of Docker on your system.
docker info
Terminal window
```
docker info
```
Provides detailed information about your Docker installation, including containers, images, and system configuration.
docker login
Terminal window
```
docker login
```
Allows you to authenticate with a Docker registry (such as Docker Hub) so you can push or pull private images.

Docker Images

docker pull
Terminal window
```
docker pull <image_name>
```
Downloads an image from a Docker registry to your local machine.

docker images

docker images

*************************************************************************************
REPOSITORY                    TAG               IMAGE ID       CREATED        SIZE
ruizdev7/portfolio-frontend   1.0.0             bc5e7370f8a7   11 days ago    54.2MB
ruizdev7/portfolio-backend    1.0.0             777aed368f07   11 days ago    246MB
moby/buildkit                 buildx-stable-1   72a94020693f   2 months ago   216MB
mysql                         8.0               c6f7ec307380   3 months ago   772MB
excalidraw/excalidraw         latest            4c54ecfa158f   3 months ago   92.9MB
fireflyiii/core               latest            f5e8a551d54b   4 months ago   733MB
jc21/nginx-proxy-manager      latest            9f5e0949eb63   4 months ago   1.09GB
alpine                        latest            aded1e1a5b37   5 months ago   7.83MB
nginx                         latest            53a18edff809   5 months ago   192MB

Lists all Docker images stored locally.

docker rmi
Terminal window
```
docker rmi <image_id>
```
Removes a Docker image from your local machine.
docker build
Terminal window
```
docker build -t <image_name> .
```
Builds a Docker image from a Dockerfile.

Docker Containers

docker run
Terminal window
```
docker run -d --name <container_name> <image_name>
```
Creates and runs a new container from an image. Useful flags include:
- -d --detach: runs the container in the background and prints the container ID
- --name <container_name> <image_name>: creates a container from the selected image and assigns it a name.

docker ps

docker ps

CONTAINER ID   IMAGE                             COMMAND                  CREATED      STATUS                PORTS                                            NAMES
a0b311e915b8   jc21/nginx-proxy-manager:latest   "/init"                  5 days ago   Up 4 days             0.0.0.0:80-81->80-81/tcp, 0.0.0.0:443->443/tcp   proxy-manager
bc6eaa1e2d87   excalidraw/excalidraw:latest      "/docker-entrypoint.…"   5 days ago   Up 4 days (healthy)   0.0.0.0:5001->80/tcp                             excalidraw
668a3af577fa   ruizdev7-portfolio-backend        "flask run --host=0.…"   5 days ago   Up 4 days             0.0.0.0:8000->6000/tcp                           backend
e789e5c966f3   ruizdev7-portfolio-frontend       "docker-entrypoint.s…"   5 days ago   Up 4 days             0.0.0.0:5173->3000/tcp                           frontend

Shows the containers currently running.

docker ps -a
Terminal window
```
docker ps -a
```
Lists all containers, including those that are stopped.
docker stop
Terminal window
```
docker stop <container_id>
```
Stops a running container.
docker start
Terminal window
```
docker start <container_id>
```
Starts a stopped container.
docker restart
Terminal window
```
docker restart <container_id>
```
Restarts a container (stops and starts it again).
docker rm
Terminal window
```
docker rm <container_id>
```
Removes a container (it must be stopped first).
docker exec
Terminal window
```
docker exec -it <container_id> /bin/bash
```
Runs a command inside a running container (for example, opens a bash terminal).

Docker Volumes

docker volume create
Terminal window
```
docker volume create <volume_name>
```
Creates a new Docker volume for persistent data storage.
docker volume ls
Terminal window
```
docker volume ls
```
Lists all existing volumes.
docker volume inspect
Terminal window
```
docker volume inspect <volume_name>
```
Shows detailed information about a specific volume.
docker volume rm
Terminal window
```
docker volume rm <volume_name>
```
Removes a volume.

Docker Networks

docker network create
Terminal window
```
docker network create <network_name>
```
Creates a new Docker network.
docker network ls
Terminal window
```
docker network ls
```
Lists all Docker networks.
docker network inspect
Terminal window
```
docker network inspect <network_name>
```
Shows detailed information about a specific network.
docker network connect
Terminal window
```
docker network connect <network_name> <container_name>
```
Connects a container to an existing network.
docker network disconnect
Terminal window
```
docker network disconnect <network_name> <container_name>
```
Disconnects a container from a network.

Docker Compose

docker-compose up
Terminal window
```
docker-compose up
```
Builds, creates, starts, and attaches the services defined in a docker-compose.yml file.
docker-compose down
Terminal window
```
docker-compose down
```
Stops and removes the containers, networks, images, and volumes defined by docker-compose.yml.
docker-compose ps
Terminal window
```
docker-compose ps
```
Lists the containers managed by Docker Compose.
docker-compose build
Terminal window
```
docker-compose build
```
Builds or rebuilds the services defined in docker-compose.yml.
docker-compose logs
Terminal window
```
docker-compose logs
```
Shows the logs of the containers managed by Docker Compose.
docker-compose exec
Terminal window
```
docker-compose exec <service_name> <command>
```
Runs a command in a container managed by Docker Compose.

These commands cover the basics of Docker and should help you get started with managing Docker containers, images, volumes, networks, and using Docker Compose for multi-container applications.