System Information #

Command Description
docker version Show Docker version information
docker system info Display system-wide information
docker system df Show Docker disk usage
docker system prune Remove unused containers, networks, and dangling images
docker system prune -a Remove all unused containers, networks, and ALL images

Basic Commands #

Command Description
docker run [OPTIONS] IMAGE [COMMAND] Run a container
docker ps List running containers
docker ps -a List all containers (including stopped)
docker ps --no-trunc Show complete command output (not truncated)
docker stop CONTAINER Stop a container
docker rm CONTAINER Remove a container
docker pull IMAGE[:TAG] Pull an image from registry
docker images List images
docker build -t IMAGE_NAME:TAG . Build an image from Dockerfile

Container Lifecycle #

Command Description
docker start CONTAINER Start a stopped container
docker restart CONTAINER Restart a container
docker pause CONTAINER Pause a container
docker unpause CONTAINER Unpause a container
docker logs CONTAINER Get container logs
docker logs -f CONTAINER Follow container logs
docker stats Display live container resource usage
docker inspect CONTAINER Show detailed container information
docker exec -it CONTAINER COMMAND Execute command in running container
docker exec -it CONTAINER /bin/sh Get a shell inside the container
docker top CONTAINER Display running processes in a container
docker container prune Remove all stopped containers
docker rename OLD_NAME NEW_NAME Rename a container
docker kill CONTAINER Send SIGKILL to a container

Docker Compose #

Command Description
docker compose up Start services defined in compose.yaml
docker compose up -d Start services in detached mode
docker compose down Stop services
docker compose down -v Stop services and remove volumes
docker compose logs View logs
docker compose logs -f Follow logs
docker compose ps List containers
docker compose exec SERVICE COMMAND Execute command in a service
docker compose build Build or rebuild services
docker compose pull Pull service images
docker compose restart Restart services
docker compose rm Remove stopped service containers
docker compose up -d --scale SERVICE=NUM Scale a service
docker compose config Validate and view the compose file

Images and Volumes #

Command Description
docker rmi IMAGE Remove an image
docker image prune Remove dangling images
docker image prune -a Remove all unused images
docker image history IMAGE Show image history
docker image ls List images
docker save IMAGE > file.tar Save image to a tar archive
docker load < file.tar Load image from a tar archive
docker tag SOURCE_IMAGE TARGET_IMAGE Create a tag for an image
docker commit CONTAINER IMAGE_NAME Create image from a container
docker volume create VOLUME_NAME Create a volume
docker volume ls List volumes
docker volume inspect VOLUME_NAME Display detailed volume information
docker volume rm VOLUME_NAME Remove a volume
docker volume prune Remove unused volumes

Network #

Command Description
docker network create NETWORK_NAME Create a network
docker network ls List networks
docker network inspect NETWORK Display detailed network information
docker network connect NETWORK CONTAINER Connect container to network
docker network disconnect NETWORK CONTAINER Disconnect container from network
docker network prune Remove all unused networks

Docker Hub #

Command Description
docker login Log in to Docker Hub
docker logout Log out from Docker Hub
docker search TERM Search Docker Hub for images
docker push IMAGE_NAME Push image to Docker Hub

Common Options #

Option Description
-d Run container in background (detached mode)
-p HOST_PORT:CONTAINER_PORT Map a port
-v HOST_PATH:CONTAINER_PATH Mount a volume
--name CONTAINER_NAME Assign a name to container
-e KEY=VALUE Set environment variables
--network NETWORK Connect to a network
--restart=always Always restart container
-i Keep STDIN open even if not attached
-t Allocate a pseudo-TTY
-it Interactive with TTY (combines -i and -t)
--rm Remove container when it exits
--memory="512m" Memory limit
--cpus="0.5" CPU limit
--user USER Username or UID
--workdir DIR Working directory in container
--entrypoint CMD Override the default entrypoint
--health-cmd CMD Health check command
-s, --signal Signal to send to the container when stopping
--stop-timeout Seconds to wait for stop before killing