Docker simplifies application deployment by bundling software with all required libraries into lightweight containers. This reference guide provides a streamlined overview of key commands used in daily DevOps environments.

Step-by-Step Command Reference

1 Basic Setup & Container Execution

Verify installation setup and execute containers with port mapping and detached background flags:

# System check & help documentation
docker --version
docker info
docker <command> --help

# Pull & run image in background with port mapping
docker pull nginx
docker run -d -p 8080:80 --name web-server nginx

# Run interactive shell or one-off auto-remove container
docker run -it ubuntu bash
docker run --rm ubuntu echo "Hello Docker"

• -d : Runs container in detached background mode.
• -p 8080:80 : Maps host port 8080 to container port 80.
• -it : Allocates pseudo-TTY for interactive terminal access.
• --rm : Automatically removes container after execution finishes.

2 Container Lifecycle Management

Control running states, list active resources, and remove stopped or idle containers:

# List running and all containers
docker ps
docker ps -a

# Lifecycle control
docker start <container>
docker stop <container>
docker restart <container>

# Pause, resume, or rename
docker pause <container>
docker unpause <container>
docker rename old-name new-name

# Remove stopped or force-remove active container
docker rm <container>
docker rm -f <container>

3 Image Build & Registry Workflow

Build custom container images using Dockerfiles, assign tags, and push builds to remote registries:

# Build image from local Dockerfile
docker build -t my-app:1.0 .

# Force clean build bypassing cache
docker build --no-cache -t my-app:1.0 .

# Tag & push image to Docker Hub
docker tag my-app:1.0 username/my-app:1.0
docker push username/my-app:1.0

# Manage local image storage
docker images
docker rmi <image>
docker image inspect <image>

4 Logs & Container Execution Access

Inspect container stdout/stderr output streams or attach shell processes directly to active instances:

# View & tail real-time logs
docker logs <container>
docker logs -f --tail 100 <container>

# Attach interactive terminal inside active container
docker exec -it <container> bash
docker exec -it <container> sh

# Run single command inside container
docker exec <container> ls /app

5 Monitoring, Inspection & File Transfer

Track real-time resource consumption and transfer files between the host system and container environments:

# Resource monitoring & JSON metadata inspection
docker stats
docker top <container>
docker inspect <container>

# Copy files host <-> container
docker cp file.txt <container>:/tmp/
docker cp <container>:/tmp/file.txt .

6 Volumes & Data Persistence

Persist container data beyond container lifecycles using managed volumes or host directory bind mounts:

# Manage named volumes
docker volume create app-data
docker volume ls
docker volume inspect app-data

# Run container with named volume or bind mount
docker run -d -v app-data:/var/lib/data nginx
docker run -d -v "$(pwd)":/app nginx

# Cleanup volume storage
docker volume rm app-data
docker volume prune

7 Docker Networking

Isolate service communication by establishing custom bridge networks with internal DNS container resolution:

# Network setup & management
docker network create app-network
docker network ls
docker network inspect app-network

# Attach containers to custom network
docker run -d --network app-network --name web nginx
docker network connect app-network <container>
docker network disconnect app-network <container>

8 Multi-Container Apps with Docker Compose

Orchestrate multi-service applications seamlessly using standard docker-compose.yml configurations:

# Launch services in background
docker compose up -d

# Rebuild images & start stack
docker compose up -d --build

# Stop, view status, & tail logs
docker compose ps
docker compose logs -f
docker compose down

9 Advanced Docker Compose Commands

Perform targeted image builds, pull updates, or launch temporary task containers for testing:

# Build & pull stack dependencies
docker compose build
docker compose pull

# Interactive shell inside stack service
docker compose exec web sh

# Run one-off ephemeral task (e.g., test runner)
docker compose run --rm web npm test

10 Disk Usage & Pruning Commands

Maintain host disk hygiene by removing dangling resources and purging unused build caches:

# Check Docker disk allocation
docker system df

# Granular resource cleanup
docker container prune
docker image prune
docker volume prune

# Complete system purge (containers, images, networks, volumes)
docker system prune -a --volumes

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