Essential Docker Commands

Managing Containers

Containers are the building blocks of Docker. Here are commands to manage container lifecycle:

• Run a new container:

  docker run -d -p 80:80 nginx

  Runs a container using the nginx image in detached mode, mapping port 80 of the host to port 80 of the container.

• Start and stop a container:

  docker start my_container 
  docker stop my_container

  Starts or stops an existing container named my_container.

• Restart a container:

  docker restart my_container

• Pause and unpause container processes:

  docker pause my_container 
  docker unpause my_container

  Temporarily halts all processes inside a container and resumes them.

• Kill a container:

  docker kill my_container

  Immediately stops a running container by sending a SIGKILL signal.

• Remove a container:

  docker rm my_container

  Deletes a container named my_container.

Managing Images

Images serve as the blueprint for containers. Here’s how to work with them:

• Build an image:

  docker build -t my_image .

  Creates a Docker image named my_image using the Dockerfile in the current directory.

• Pull an image:

  docker pull ubuntu

  Downloads the latest Ubuntu image from Docker Hub.

• Push an image:

  docker push my_user/my_image

  Uploads the image my_image to a repository under the username my_user.

• List and remove images:

  docker images docker rmi my_image

  Displays all locally available images or removes an image.

Managing Networks

Docker networks facilitate communication between containers.

• Create and remove networks:

  docker network create my_network 
  docker network rm my_network

• Connect or disconnect a container to/from a network:

  docker network connect my_network my_container 
  docker network disconnect my_network my_container

• List all networks:

  docker network ls

Volume Management

Volumes are used to persist data between container restarts.

• Create a volume:

  docker volume create my_volume

• List and remove volumes:

  docker volume ls 
  docker volume rm my_volume

Information and Logs

These commands provide insights into containers and system state:

• List running or all containers:

  docker ps 
  docker ps -a

• Fetch logs and inspect details:

  docker logs my_container 
  docker inspect my_container

• Monitor resource usage:

  docker stats my_container

Docker Compose

For managing multi-container applications, Docker Compose is invaluable:

• Start and stop all services in a Compose file:

  docker-compose up 
  docker-compose down

System Commands

Get system-wide information or Docker version details:

• Display Docker info:

  docker info

• Check Docker version:

  docker version

Miscellaneous Commands

• Log in and out of Docker Hub:

  docker login -u my_user -p my_password 
  docker logout

• Search for images:

  docker search nginx