Docker CLI Basics
Everyday Docker Engine CLI commands for containers. Results appear in the same fence: same-line # comments when short, multiline # blocks below the sample when not. Fences are bash, dockerfile, or yaml as appropriate.
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Everyday Docker Engine CLI commands for containers. Results appear in the same fence: same-line # comments when short, multiline # blocks below the sample when not. Fences are bash, dockerfile, or yaml as appropriate.
Create and start a container from an image.
docker run --rm -d --name web -p 8080:80 nginx:alpine
# container id printed; maps host 8080 -> container 80List running containers (add -a for all).
docker ps --format '{{.Names}} {{.Status}}'
# web Up 10 secondsStream or fetch container logs.
docker logs --tail 100 -f web
# last 100 lines then followRun a command in a running container.
docker exec -it web sh -c 'echo hi'
# hiGraceful stop (SIGTERM then SIGKILL after timeout).
docker stop web
# webRemove stopped containers.
docker rm web
# webJSON metadata for a container or image.
docker inspect -f '{{.State.Status}}' web
# runningPass environment variables.
docker run --rm -e GREETING=hello alpine:3.20 printenv GREETING
# helloBind mount a host path.
docker run --rm -v "$PWD":/work -w /work alpine:3.20 ls
# lists current directory filesRun as non-root user id.
docker run --rm --user 1000:1000 alpine:3.20 id
# uid=1000 gid=1000Show processes in a container.
docker top web
# PID USER TIME COMMAND ...Live resource usage.
docker stats --no-stream web
# NAME CPU% MEM USAGE / LIMIT ...Copy files to/from a container.
docker cp web:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf ./nginx.conf
# copies config to hostRename a container.
docker rename web web-old
# web-oldDisk usage summary.
docker system df
# TYPE TOTAL ACTIVE SIZE RECLAIMABLEStack versions: Kubernetes 1.36.2 · Docker Engine 29.6.1 · Helm 3 · Compose v2 · containerd via CRI
Reviewed by Chris St. John·Last updated Jul 18, 2026