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Docker CLI Cheatsheet

A comprehensive cheat sheet for Docker CLI, covering essential commands for managing images, containers, volumes, and networks. Includes examples for quick reference.

Basic Commands

Image Management

docker build [options] .

Builds an image from a Dockerfile in the current directory.

Options:
-t <image_name>: Tags the image with a name.
--build-arg <var>=<value>: Sets build-time variables.

Example:
docker build -t myapp:latest .

docker pull <image_name>

Pulls an image from Docker Hub or a registry.

Example:
docker pull ubuntu:latest

docker images [options]

Lists available images.

Options:
-a: Shows all images, including intermediate image layers.

Example:
docker images

docker rmi <image_id>

Removes an image.

Example:
docker rmi b750fe78269d

docker image prune [options]

Removes unused images.

Options:
-a: Remove all unused images, not just dangling ones.

Example:
docker image prune -a

Container Management

docker run [options] <image>

Creates and starts a container from an image.

Options:
-d: Detached mode (run in background).
-i: Interactive mode.
-t: Allocate a pseudo-TTY.
--name <name>: Assign a name to the container.
-p <host_port>:<container_port>: Port mapping.
-v <host_path>:<container_path>: Volume mounting.
-e <VAR>=<value>: Set environment variables.

Example:
docker run -d -p 80:80 nginx

docker create [options] <image>

Creates a container but does not start it.

Example:
docker create --name my_container ubuntu

docker start <container_id>

Starts a stopped container.

Example:
docker start my_container

docker stop <container_id>

Stops a running container.

Example:
docker stop my_container

docker restart <container_id>

Restarts a container.

Example:
docker restart my_container

docker rm [options] <container_id>

Removes a stopped container.

Options:
-f: Force removal of a running container.

Example:
docker rm my_container

Inspecting and Interacting with Containers

Container Inspection

docker ps [options]

Lists running containers.

Options:
-a: Shows all containers, including stopped ones.
-q: Only display numeric IDs.

Example:
docker ps -a

docker inspect <container_id>

Displays detailed information about a container.

Example:
docker inspect my_container

docker logs [options] <container_id>

Fetches the logs of a container.

Options:
-f: Follow log output.
--tail <n>: Output the last n number of lines.

Example:
docker logs -f my_container

docker top <container_id>

Displays the processes running inside a container.

Example:
docker top my_container

docker stats [options] <container_id>

Displays resource usage statistics for a container.

Example:
docker stats my_container

Interactive Container Operations

docker exec [options] <container_id> <command>

Executes a command inside a running container.

Options:
-i: Interactive mode.
-t: Allocate a pseudo-TTY.
-d: Detached mode.
-u <user>: Username or UID (format: <name|uid>[:<group|gid>]).

Example:
docker exec -it my_container bash

docker attach <container_id>

Attaches your terminal’s standard input, output, and error streams to a running container.

Example:
docker attach my_container

docker kill <container_id>

Kills a running container by sending a SIGKILL signal.

Example:
docker kill my_container

docker pause <container_id>

Pauses all processes within a container.

Example:
docker pause my_container

docker unpause <container_id>

Unpauses all processes within a paused container.

Example:
docker unpause my_container

Docker Volumes and Networking

Volume Management

docker volume create [options] <volume_name>

Creates a new volume.

Options:
--driver <driver_name>: Specify volume driver name (e.g., local, nfs).

Example:
docker volume create my_volume

docker volume ls

Lists all existing volumes.

Example:
docker volume ls

docker volume inspect <volume_name>

Displays detailed information about a volume.

Example:
docker volume inspect my_volume

docker volume rm <volume_name>

Removes a volume.

Example:
docker volume rm my_volume

docker volume prune

Removes all unused local volumes.

Example:
docker volume prune

Network Management

docker network create [options] <network_name>

Creates a new network.

Options:
--driver <driver_name>: Specify network driver (e.g., bridge, overlay).
--subnet <subnet>: Assign subnet address.

Example:
docker network create --driver bridge my_network

docker network ls

Lists all existing networks.

Example:
docker network ls

docker network inspect <network_name>

Displays detailed information about a network.

Example:
docker network inspect my_network

docker network connect <network_name> <container_id>

Connects a container to a network.

Example:
docker network connect my_network my_container

docker network disconnect <network_name> <container_id>

Disconnects a container from a network.

Example:
docker network disconnect my_network my_container

docker network rm <network_name>

Removes a network.

Example:
docker network rm my_network

docker network prune

Removes all unused networks.

Example:
docker network prune

Advanced Docker Commands

Docker System Commands

docker system df

Shows Docker disk usage.

Example:
docker system df

docker system events

Gets real-time events from the Docker server.

Example:
docker system events

docker system info

Displays system-wide information about Docker.

Example:
docker system info

docker system prune [options]

Cleans up unused Docker resources.

Options:
-a: Remove all unused images and containers.
--volumes: Prune volumes as well.

Example:
docker system prune -a

Docker Compose (Orchestration)

docker-compose up [options]

Builds, (re)creates, starts, and attaches to containers defined in a docker-compose.yml file.

Options:
-d: Detached mode.
--build: Force rebuild images.
--scale <service>=<num>: Scale a service to a specified number of instances.

Example:
docker-compose up -d

docker-compose down [options]

Stops and removes containers, networks, volumes, and images created by docker-compose up.

Options:
--rmi all: Remove all images used by the service.

Example:
docker-compose down

docker-compose ps

Lists the containers created by docker-compose.

Example:
docker-compose ps

docker-compose logs [options] <service>

View output from services.

Options:
-f: Follow log output.

Example:
docker-compose logs -f web

docker-compose exec <service> <command>

Execute arbitrary commands within a service’s container.

Example:
docker-compose exec web bash
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