Docker Command

Docker Basics

Container Management

Running Containers

# Run container
docker run <image_name>
 
# Run with name
docker run --name <container_name> <image_name>
 
# Run in detached mode (background)
docker run -d <image_name>
 
# Run with port mapping
docker run -p <host_port>:<container_port> <image_name>
 
# Run with environment variables
docker run -e "KEY=value" <image_name>
 
# Run with volume mount
docker run -v <host_path>:<container_path> <image_name>
 
# Run with interactive terminal
docker run -it <image_name> /bin/bash
 
# Example: SQL Server 2022
docker run -e 'ACCEPT_EULA=Y' \
  -e 'SA_PASSWORD=Asrofil123!' \
  -p 1433:1433 \
  --name sql2022 \
  -d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2022-latest

Container Lifecycle

# List running containers
docker ps
 
# List all containers (including stopped)
docker ps -a
 
# Start container
docker start <container_name>
 
# Stop container
docker stop <container_name>
 
# Restart container
docker restart <container_name>
 
# Pause container
docker pause <container_name>
 
# Unpause container
docker unpause <container_name>
 
# Remove container
docker rm <container_name>
 
# Force remove running container
docker rm -f <container_name>
 
# Remove all stopped containers
docker container prune

Container Information

# View container logs
docker logs <container_name>
 
# Follow logs (real-time)
docker logs -f <container_name>
 
# View last N lines of logs
docker logs --tail 100 <container_name>
 
# Inspect container
docker inspect <container_name>
 
# View container processes
docker top <container_name>
 
# View container stats
docker stats <container_name>
 
# View all container stats
docker stats

Executing Commands

# Execute command in running container
docker exec <container_name> <command>
 
# Interactive shell
docker exec -it <container_name> /bin/bash
 
# Execute as specific user
docker exec -u root -it <container_name> /bin/bash
 
# Example: MySQL client
docker exec -it mysql_container mysql -u root -p

Docker Images

Managing Images

# List images
docker images
 
# Pull image from registry
docker pull <image_name>
 
# Pull specific version
docker pull <image_name>:<tag>
 
# Build image from Dockerfile
docker build -t <image_name>:<tag> .
 
# Build with custom Dockerfile
docker build -f <dockerfile_path> -t <image_name> .
 
# Tag image
docker tag <image_id> <new_image_name>:<tag>
 
# Push image to registry
docker push <image_name>:<tag>
 
# Remove image
docker rmi <image_name>
 
# Force remove image
docker rmi -f <image_name>
 
# Remove unused images
docker image prune
 
# Remove all unused images
docker image prune -a

Image Information

# View image history
docker history <image_name>
 
# Inspect image
docker inspect <image_name>
 
# View image layers
docker image inspect <image_name> --format='{{.RootFS.Layers}}'

Docker Compose

Basic Commands

# Start services
docker compose up
 
# Start in detached mode
docker compose up -d
 
# Build and start services
docker compose up --build
 
# Build and start in detached mode
docker compose up --build -d
 
# Stop services
docker compose down
 
# Stop and remove volumes
docker compose down -v
 
# View running services
docker compose ps
 
# View logs
docker compose logs
 
# Follow logs
docker compose logs -f
 
# Logs for specific service
docker compose logs <service_name>
 
# Restart services
docker compose restart
 
# Restart specific service
docker compose restart <service_name>
 
# Execute command in service
docker compose exec <service_name> <command>
 
# Scale service
docker compose up -d --scale <service_name>=3

Advanced Compose

# Build services without starting
docker compose build
 
# Pull images for services
docker compose pull
 
# Validate docker-compose.yml
docker compose config
 
# View running processes
docker compose top
 
# Pause services
docker compose pause
 
# Unpause services
docker compose unpause
 
# Remove stopped containers
docker compose rm

Docker Volumes

Volume Management

# List volumes
docker volume ls
 
# Create volume
docker volume create <volume_name>
 
# Inspect volume
docker volume inspect <volume_name>
 
# Remove volume
docker volume rm <volume_name>
 
# Remove unused volumes
docker volume prune
 
# Remove all unused volumes
docker volume prune -a

Using Volumes

# Run with named volume
docker run -v <volume_name>:<container_path> <image_name>
 
# Run with bind mount
docker run -v <host_path>:<container_path> <image_name>
 
# Read-only volume
docker run -v <volume_name>:<container_path>:ro <image_name>

Docker Networks

Network Management

# List networks
docker network ls
 
# Create network
docker network create <network_name>
 
# Create custom network with subnet
docker network create --subnet=172.18.0.0/16 <network_name>
 
# Inspect network
docker network inspect <network_name>
 
# Connect container to network
docker network connect <network_name> <container_name>
 
# Disconnect container from network
docker network disconnect <network_name> <container_name>
 
# Remove network
docker network rm <network_name>
 
# Remove unused networks
docker network prune

Running with Networks

# Run container on specific network
docker run --network <network_name> <image_name>
 
# Run with network alias
docker run --network <network_name> --network-alias <alias> <image_name>

Dockerfile Best Practices

Basic Dockerfile

# Base image
FROM ubuntu:22.04
 
# Set working directory
WORKDIR /app
 
# Copy files
COPY . .
 
# Install dependencies
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
    package1 \
    package2 \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
# Expose port
EXPOSE 8080
 
# Set environment variables
ENV NODE_ENV=production
 
# Run command
CMD ["node", "app.js"]

Multi-stage Build

# Build stage
FROM node:18 AS builder
WORKDIR /app
COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm install
COPY . .
RUN npm run build
 
# Production stage
FROM node:18-slim
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=builder /app/dist ./dist
COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm install --production
EXPOSE 3000
CMD ["node", "dist/index.js"]

Docker System Commands

System Information

# View Docker info
docker info
 
# View Docker version
docker version
 
# View disk usage
docker system df
 
# Detailed disk usage
docker system df -v

System Cleanup

# Remove unused data (containers, networks, images)
docker system prune
 
# Remove all unused data (including volumes)
docker system prune -a --volumes
 
# Remove everything (use with caution!)
docker system prune -a -f

Common Use Cases

SQL Server

# Create SQL Server container
docker run -e 'ACCEPT_EULA=Y' \
  -e 'SA_PASSWORD=YourPassword123!' \
  -p 1433:1433 \
  --name sqlserver \
  -d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2022-latest
 
# Start SQL Server
docker start sqlserver
 
# Connect to SQL Server
docker exec -it sqlserver /opt/mssql-tools/bin/sqlcmd \
  -S localhost -U SA -P 'YourPassword123!'

MySQL

# Create MySQL container
docker run --name mysql \
  -e MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=root123 \
  -e MYSQL_DATABASE=mydb \
  -e MYSQL_USER=user \
  -e MYSQL_PASSWORD=pass123 \
  -p 3306:3306 \
  -d mysql:8.0
 
# Connect to MySQL
docker exec -it mysql mysql -u root -p

PostgreSQL

# Create PostgreSQL container
docker run --name postgres \
  -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=postgres123 \
  -e POSTGRES_DB=mydb \
  -p 5432:5432 \
  -d postgres:15
 
# Connect to PostgreSQL
docker exec -it postgres psql -U postgres

Redis

# Create Redis container
docker run --name redis \
  -p 6379:6379 \
  -d redis:7
 
# Connect to Redis CLI
docker exec -it redis redis-cli

MongoDB

# Create MongoDB container
docker run --name mongodb \
  -e MONGO_INITDB_ROOT_USERNAME=admin \
  -e MONGO_INITDB_ROOT_PASSWORD=admin123 \
  -p 27017:27017 \
  -d mongo:6
 
# Connect to MongoDB
docker exec -it mongodb mongosh -u admin -p admin123

Nginx

# Create Nginx container
docker run --name nginx \
  -p 80:80 \
  -v $(pwd)/html:/usr/share/nginx/html:ro \
  -d nginx:alpine

Docker Compose Example

docker-compose.yml

version: '3.8'
 
services:
  web:
    build: .
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    environment:
      - NODE_ENV=production
    volumes:
      - ./src:/app/src
    depends_on:
      - db
    networks:
      - app-network
 
  db:
    image: postgres:15
    environment:
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: postgres123
      POSTGRES_DB: mydb
    volumes:
      - postgres-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    networks:
      - app-network
 
  redis:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    networks:
      - app-network
 
volumes:
  postgres-data:
 
networks:
  app-network:
    driver: bridge

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Container won’t start

# Check logs
docker logs <container_name>
 
# Check container details
docker inspect <container_name>
 
# Try running in foreground
docker run -it <image_name>

Port already in use

# Find process using port
sudo lsof -i :<port>
# or
sudo netstat -tulpn | grep :<port>
 
# Stop container using that port
docker stop $(docker ps -q --filter "publish=<port>")

Out of disk space

# Check disk usage
docker system df
 
# Clean up
docker system prune -a --volumes

Permission denied

# Add user to docker group
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
 
# Restart session or run
newgrp docker

Best Practices

✅ Do:

Use official images when possible
Tag your images with versions
Use .dockerignore file
Keep images small (use alpine variants)
Use multi-stage builds
Don’t run containers as root
Use environment variables for configuration
Use named volumes for data persistence

❌ Don’t:

Store secrets in images
Use latest tag in production
Install unnecessary packages
Leave containers running when not needed
Ignore security updates

Quick Reference

# Build and run with Docker Compose
docker compose up --build -d
 
# View logs
docker compose logs -f
 
# Stop all services
docker compose down
 
# Restart service
docker compose restart <service>
 
# Execute command
docker compose exec <service> bash
 
# Clean everything
docker system prune -a --volumes -f

Explorer

Docker Command

Docker Basics

Container Management

Running Containers

Container Lifecycle

Container Information

Executing Commands

Docker Images

Managing Images

Image Information

Docker Compose

Basic Commands

Advanced Compose

Docker Volumes

Volume Management

Using Volumes

Docker Networks

Network Management

Running with Networks

Dockerfile Best Practices

Basic Dockerfile

Multi-stage Build

Docker System Commands

System Information

System Cleanup

Common Use Cases

SQL Server

MySQL

PostgreSQL

Redis

MongoDB

Nginx

Docker Compose Example

docker-compose.yml

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Container won’t start

Port already in use

Out of disk space

Permission denied

Best Practices

Quick Reference

Graph View

Table of Contents

Recent notes

Backlinks