A "work in progress"-list with the Docker commands I use the most

With the start of 2019 I began using Docker Containers in the projects I am working on. Working with a command line tool (Windows Powershell, etc.) is essential when creating new containers. In the following list you can find the commands that I use the most:

• docker pull IMAGE_ID
  • Download the specified docker image
• docker run -d IMAGE_ID
  • Starts a new container instance with the specified image id. The id can be found with docker image ls
  • the -d option instructs the container to run in the background
  • alternative to -d, you can use the -it option which tells Docker to create a bash shell in the container, so that we can directly interact with it
• docker exec -it CONTAINER_ID “bash”
  • Starts an interactive bash shell inside your running container (here the CONTAINER_ID)
  • To quit the bash type exit. The container continues running
• docker exec -it sql1 mkdir /folder1/folder2/folder3
  • Creates a new directory (3 folders) inside the container
• docker stop CONTAINER_ID
  • Stops a container with the given id
  • You could also use the name of the container instead of the container id
• docker ps
  • Lists all running containers in the current machine
  • With the -a parameter you can list all containers (running and not running)
  • Alternative you can use the docker container ls command which also lists all running containers
• docker image ls
  • Lists all, not deleted, images we have created
• docker build -t aRandomName:aRandomVersion .
  • builds a new image with the given name and a version (optional)
  • The command has to be executed inside a folder which contains the Dockerfile file
  • The . is the path where the local files are being sent to when we create the new image
  • use the –no-cache option if you want to build the image from scratch
  • The -f parameter can be used to define the name of a specific Dockerfile
• docker start CONTAINER_ID
  • Starts a new container instance with the specified container id. The id can be found with docker ps -a
• docker image rm -f IMAGE_ID:
  • Removes a created image with the given id. The id can be found with the docker image ls or docker images command
  • You can delete more than one image with one command. Simply add the IDs one after the other
  • -f is for force
• docker rm CONTAINER_ID
  • Removes the container. You can check that the container is gone by typing docker ps -a
  • You can also use the name of the container instead of the container id
• docker container inspect CONTAINER_ID
  • Returns a JSON object with the complete configuration of the container
• docker container prune
  • Removes all containers (running and not running) from Docker. Very helpful command when you want to start with fresh instances of your Docker Images. Use it with caution ;)
• docker attach CONTAINER_ID
  • Attach to a running container
• docker cp foo.txt CONTAINER_NAME:/foo.txt
  • Copy one local file into a running container
• docker cp CONTAINER_NAME:/foo.txt foo.txt
  • Copy a file from a running container into your computer
• docker cp src/. CONTAINER_NAME:/target
  • Copy multiple files into a running container
• docker cp CONTAINER_NAME:/src/. target
  • Copy multiple files from a running container into your computer
• docker log CONTAINER_ID
  • Logged information, warnings, errors to troubleshoot problems in your Container
• docker-compose up
  • The “easy” way to start and orchestrate a collection of containers. For more complex orchestration-scenarios check Kubernetes
  • With the –no-start option, you can block the starting of the Containers defined in the docker-compose file. This option is very helpful when you want to do some bootstrapping actions before letting the Containers start.
• docker-compose down
  • Stops all running containers started from docker-compose up
  • Removes also the data stored in the Database Containers

For a more detailed documentation of the previous commands and their available option visit the Docker documentation.