📖 Guide

Docker Commands Cheat Sheet — Complete Reference

Every Docker command you need, from container basics to Compose orchestration. Searchable and organized.

121 commands across 10 categories

Container Lifecycle

Command	Description
`docker run <image>` e.g. docker run nginx	Create and start a container
`docker run -d <image>`	Run container in background (detached)
`docker run -it <image> bash`	Run interactively with a shell
`docker run --name <name> <image>` e.g. docker run --name web nginx	Run with a custom name
`docker run -p 8080:80 <image>`	Map host port 8080 to container port 80
`docker run -v /host:/container <image>`	Mount a volume
`docker run --rm <image>`	Auto-remove container when it exits
`docker run -e KEY=value <image>`	Set environment variable
`docker run --env-file .env <image>`	Load env vars from file
`docker run --network <net> <image>`	Connect to a specific network
`docker run --restart=unless-stopped <image>`	Auto-restart policy
`docker create <image>`	Create container without starting
`docker start <container>`	Start a stopped container
`docker stop <container>`	Gracefully stop a running container
`docker restart <container>`	Restart a container
`docker kill <container>`	Force stop a container (SIGKILL)
`docker rm <container>`	Remove a stopped container
`docker rm -f <container>`	Force remove (even if running)
`docker rename <old> <new>`	Rename a container
`docker pause <container>`	Pause all processes in container
`docker unpause <container>`	Unpause a paused container

Command	Description
`docker ps`	List running containers
`docker ps -a`	List all containers (including stopped)
`docker ps -q`	List only container IDs
`docker ps --format '{{.Names}}'`	Custom output format
`docker logs <container>`	View container logs
`docker logs -f <container>`	Follow/stream logs in real-time
`docker logs --tail 100 <container>`	Show last 100 log lines
`docker logs --since 1h <container>`	Show logs from last hour
`docker inspect <container>`	Full JSON details of container
`docker inspect -f '{{.NetworkSettings.IPAddress}}' <c>`	Get container IP address
`docker stats`	Live resource usage for all containers
`docker stats <container>`	Live resource usage for specific container
`docker top <container>`	Show running processes in container
`docker port <container>`	List port mappings
`docker diff <container>`	Show filesystem changes in container

Command	Description
`docker images`	List local images
`docker images -a`	List all images (including intermediates)
`docker pull <image>` e.g. docker pull node:20-alpine	Download an image from registry
`docker push <image>`	Push image to registry
`docker build -t <name> .` e.g. docker build -t myapp:latest .	Build image from Dockerfile in current dir
`docker build -f <file> .`	Build with a specific Dockerfile
`docker build --no-cache .`	Build without using cache
`docker build --build-arg KEY=val .`	Pass build-time variable
`docker tag <image> <new-tag>` e.g. docker tag myapp:latest myapp:v1.0	Tag an image
`docker rmi <image>`	Remove an image
`docker rmi $(docker images -q)`	Remove all images ⚠️
`docker image prune`	Remove dangling (untagged) images
`docker image prune -a`	Remove all unused images
`docker history <image>`	Show image layer history
`docker save -o file.tar <image>`	Export image to tar file
`docker load -i file.tar`	Import image from tar file

Command	Description
`docker exec -it <container> bash`	Open interactive shell in running container
`docker exec -it <container> sh`	Open shell (Alpine/minimal images)
`docker exec <container> <cmd>` e.g. docker exec web ls /app	Run command in container
`docker exec -u root <container> <cmd>`	Run command as root
`docker cp <container>:/path /host`	Copy file from container to host
`docker cp /host <container>:/path`	Copy file from host to container
`docker attach <container>`	Attach to container's main process
`docker wait <container>`	Block until container stops, print exit code
`docker commit <container> <image>`	Create image from container's changes
`docker export <container> > file.tar`	Export container filesystem

Command	Description
`docker volume create <name>`	Create a named volume
`docker volume ls`	List all volumes
`docker volume inspect <name>`	Show volume details
`docker volume rm <name>`	Remove a volume
`docker volume prune`	Remove all unused volumes
`docker run -v <vol>:/data <image>` e.g. docker run -v pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data postgres	Mount named volume
`docker run -v $(pwd):/app <image>`	Bind mount current directory
`docker run -v /host:/container:ro <image>`	Mount as read-only
`docker run --tmpfs /tmp <image>`	Mount tmpfs (in-memory filesystem)

Command	Description
`docker network ls`	List all networks
`docker network create <name>`	Create a bridge network
`docker network create --driver overlay <name>`	Create overlay network (Swarm)
`docker network inspect <name>`	Show network details and connected containers
`docker network connect <net> <container>`	Connect container to network
`docker network disconnect <net> <container>`	Disconnect container from network
`docker network rm <name>`	Remove a network
`docker network prune`	Remove all unused networks

Command	Description
`docker compose up`	Create and start all services
`docker compose up -d`	Start services in background
`docker compose up --build`	Rebuild images before starting
`docker compose up <service>`	Start specific service only
`docker compose down`	Stop and remove containers, networks
`docker compose down -v`	Also remove volumes
`docker compose down --rmi all`	Also remove images
`docker compose build`	Build or rebuild services
`docker compose build --no-cache`	Build without cache
`docker compose ps`	List running compose services
`docker compose logs`	View logs from all services
`docker compose logs -f <service>`	Follow logs for specific service
`docker compose exec <service> bash`	Open shell in running service
`docker compose run <service> <cmd>`	Run one-off command in new container
`docker compose pull`	Pull latest images for all services
`docker compose restart <service>`	Restart a specific service
`docker compose stop`	Stop services without removing
`docker compose config`	Validate and view compose config
`docker compose -f prod.yml up -d`	Use a specific compose file
`docker compose up --scale <service>=3 -d`	Scale service to 3 instances

Command	Description
`docker login`	Log in to Docker Hub
`docker login <registry>` e.g. docker login ghcr.io	Log in to a private registry
`docker logout`	Log out from registry
`docker search <term>` e.g. docker search nginx	Search Docker Hub for images
`docker pull <registry>/<image>:<tag>`	Pull from specific registry
`docker push <registry>/<image>:<tag>`	Push to specific registry

Command	Description
`docker system df`	Show Docker disk usage
`docker system prune`	Remove unused data (stopped containers, dangling images, etc.)
`docker system prune -a`	Remove ALL unused data (including unused images) ⚠️
`docker system prune -a --volumes`	Nuclear cleanup — remove everything unused ⚠️
`docker system info`	Display system-wide information
`docker system events`	Stream real-time Docker events
`docker container prune`	Remove all stopped containers
`docker rm $(docker ps -aq)`	Remove all containers ⚠️
`docker version`	Show Docker client and server versions

Command	Description
`docker buildx create --use`	Create and use a new builder instance
`docker buildx build --platform linux/amd64,linux/arm64 -t <image> .`	Multi-platform build
`docker buildx build --push -t <image> .`	Build and push in one step
`docker buildx ls`	List builder instances
`docker buildx inspect`	Inspect current builder
`docker buildx prune`	Clean up build cache
`docker manifest inspect <image>`	Inspect image manifest (multi-arch info)