Docker Cheatsheet
Essential Docker commands for container management, images, volumes, and networking.
Useful Docker Resources
- Docker Documentation - Official Docker docs
- Docker Hub - Container image registry
- Play with Docker - Free Docker playground
- Docker Compose Docs - Multi-container applications
Container Lifecycle
docker run <image>
Create and start a container from an image
docker run -d <image>
Run container in detached (background) mode
docker run -it <image> /bin/bash
Run container interactively with a shell
docker run -p 8080:80 <image>
Map host port 8080 to container port 80
docker run -v /host/path:/container/path <image>
Mount a volume from host to container
docker run --name my-container <image>
Run container with a custom name
docker start <container>
Start a stopped container
docker stop <container>
Stop a running container
docker restart <container>
Restart a container
docker rm <container>
Remove a stopped container
docker rm -f <container>
Force remove a running container
Container Information
docker ps
List running containers
docker ps -a
List all containers (including stopped)
docker logs <container>
View container logs
docker logs -f <container>
Follow container logs in real-time
docker exec -it <container> /bin/bash
Execute a command inside a running container
docker inspect <container>
Get detailed container information
docker top <container>
Show running processes in a container
docker stats
Display live resource usage statistics
Image Management
docker images
List all local images
docker pull <image>
Download an image from registry
docker push <image>
Upload an image to registry
docker build -t <name:tag> .
Build an image from Dockerfile
docker tag <image> <new-name:tag>
Tag an image with a new name
docker rmi <image>
Remove an image
docker image prune
Remove unused images
docker history <image>
Show image layer history
Volume Management
docker volume create <name>
Create a named volume
docker volume ls
List all volumes
docker volume inspect <name>
Get volume details
docker volume rm <name>
Remove a volume
docker volume prune
Remove all unused volumes
Network Management
docker network ls
List all networks
docker network create <name>
Create a network
docker network connect <network> <container>
Connect container to network
docker network disconnect <network> <container>
Disconnect container from network
docker network inspect <network>
Get network details
docker network rm <network>
Remove a network
Docker Compose
docker-compose up
Create and start all services
docker-compose up -d
Start services in detached mode
docker-compose down
Stop and remove all services
docker-compose build
Build or rebuild services
docker-compose logs -f
Follow logs for all services
docker-compose ps
List running services
docker-compose exec <service> <command>
Execute command in a service container
docker-compose restart
Restart all services
System & Cleanup
docker system df
Show Docker disk usage
docker system prune
Remove unused data (containers, networks, images)
docker system prune -a
Remove all unused data including unused images
docker info
Display system-wide information
docker version
Show Docker version information
Dockerfile Instructions
FROM <image>
Set base image
WORKDIR /app
Set working directory
COPY . .
Copy files from host to container
RUN npm install
Execute command during build
EXPOSE 3000
Document exposed port
ENV NODE_ENV=production
Set environment variable
CMD ["node", "server.js"]
Default command to run
ENTRYPOINT ["python", "app.py"]
Set container entrypoint
