Common Docker CLI Commands

Docker CLI The commands you actually type every day. Following the official Docker CLI reference (as of 2026-06). For the concept basics, see Core concepts.

Container lifecycle

Command	Purpose	Example
`docker run`	Create and start a new container from an image	`docker run -d --name web nginx:alpine`
`docker start`	Start a stopped container	`docker start web`
`docker stop`	Graceful stop via SIGTERM (10s grace by default)	`docker stop web`
`docker restart`	Stop then start again	`docker restart web`
`docker pause` / `unpause`	Freeze / unfreeze all processes	`docker pause web`
`docker rm`	Remove a stopped container (`-f` forces running)	`docker rm web`

docker run -d --name web nginx:alpine   # create and start detached
docker stop -t 0 web                     # stop without waiting for SIGTERM
docker rm -f web                         # force-remove a running container

Key `docker run` flags

Flags decide how a container runs; these are the most used:

Flag	Purpose	Example
`-d`	Run detached (background), prints only the container ID	`docker run -d nginx:alpine`
`-it`	Interactive shell (`-i` keeps STDIN, `-t` allocates a TTY)	`docker run -it ubuntu bash`
`--name`	Name the container (unique per host)	`docker run --name web nginx`
`--rm`	Auto-remove on exit (and its anonymous volumes)	`docker run --rm alpine echo hi`
`-p`	Publish a port, `HOST:CONTAINER`	`docker run -p 8080:80 nginx`
`--network`	Connect to a network	`docker run --network mynet app`
`-v` / `--mount`	Mount a volume or bind mount	`docker run -v data:/app/data app`
`-e` / `--env-file`	Set env vars / load from a file	`docker run -e TZ=Asia/Taipei app`
`--restart`	Restart policy (see below)	`docker run --restart=always nginx`
`--gpus`	Pass GPUs (needs the NVIDIA Container Toolkit)	`docker run --gpus all app nvidia-smi`
`-w` / `-u`	Working dir / run identity	`docker run -w /app -u 1000:1000 app`
`--memory` / `--cpus`	Resource caps	`docker run -m 512m --cpus 1.5 app`

The four --restart policies:

Value	Behavior
`no` (default)	No auto-restart
`on-failure[:N]`	Restart only on a non-zero exit code, up to N retries
`always`	Always restart; also comes back after the daemon restarts
`unless-stopped`	Same as `always`, but if you `docker stop` it manually, a daemon restart will not bring it back

The direction of -p is HOST:CONTAINER: left is your machine, right is inside the container. -p 8080:80 means “host 8080 into container 80”; reversed, you cannot connect. To bind only to localhost: -p 127.0.0.1:8080:80.

Inspect and debug

Command	Purpose
`docker ps`	List running containers (`-a` includes stopped, `-q` IDs only)
`docker logs`	View logs (`-f` follow, `--tail N`, `--since`)
`docker exec`	Run a command in a running container (`-it` for a shell)
`docker inspect`	Full JSON of a container / image (IP, mounts, env)
`docker stats`	Live CPU / memory / network / block I/O
`docker top`	Processes running inside a container
`docker cp`	Copy files between container and host

docker ps -a -q --filter status=exited        # IDs of all stopped containers
docker logs -f --tail 100 web                  # follow the last 100 lines
docker exec -it -u root web bash               # interactive shell as root
docker inspect --format='{{.NetworkSettings.IPAddress}}' web   # get the IP
docker stats --no-stream                       # one snapshot, no streaming
docker cp web:/app/logs/app.log ./app.log      # copy a file out

A “run it, check it, look inside, tear it down” flow looks like this:

Image commands

Command	Purpose
`docker images`	List local images (`-a` includes intermediate layers)
`docker pull`	Pull an image from a registry
`docker build`	Build an image from a Dockerfile (`-t` to name, `-f` for the file)
`docker tag`	Add a new tag
`docker rmi`	Remove an image (`-f` forces)
`docker history`	Each layer’s build instruction and size
`docker save` / `load`	Export to tar / import (offline transfer)

docker pull nginx:1.27-alpine
docker build -f docker/Dockerfile.prod -t myapp:prod .
docker tag myapp:1.0 user/myapp:1.0
docker save myapp:1.0 | gzip > myapp.tar.gz     # compressed export
docker load < myapp.tar.gz                       # import

Full docker build usage is in Building a Dockerfile from scratch.

Cleanup commands

Images, containers, and volumes pile up. These are destructive, so be clear what each removes:

docker system df                      # disk usage and reclaimable space first
docker system df -v                   # per-object detail

docker container prune                # all stopped containers
docker image prune                    # only dangling images
docker image prune -a                 # every image not referenced by a container (incl. tagged)
docker volume prune                   # only anonymous volumes
docker network prune                  # unused custom networks

docker system prune                   # stopped containers + unused networks + dangling images + build cache
docker system prune -a                # images expand to "every unreferenced image"
docker system prune -a --volumes      # plus anonymous volumes, the most destructive

Cleanup is irreversible. Run docker system df first:

docker image prune -a / system prune -a removes all images not used by a container, including versions you may still want, forcing a re-pull.
--volumes clears only anonymous volumes; to clear named volumes (where database data often lives) you need docker volume prune -a, and the data cannot be recovered.
The built-in bridge / host / none networks are never pruned.

Multiple daemons and diagnostics

docker context ls                                    # list reachable Docker daemons
docker context create remote --docker "host=ssh://user@10.0.0.5"
docker --context remote ps                           # run one command against a remote daemon
docker version                                       # client and daemon versions, API version
docker info                                          # system info for the whole install

Deprecated items (as of 2026-06)

Old usage	Status	Replacement
`docker-compose` (v1, Python)	EOL, no longer maintained	`docker compose` (v2, built-in CLI plugin)
`docker run --link`	Deprecated	user-defined network + DNS name resolution
`DOCKER_BUILDKIT=0`	Can disable BuildKit but not recommended	Use BuildKit (default in Docker 23+)

Docker Hub: where pulled / pushed images come from.
Performance settings: WSL 2 backend resources and daemon.json.
Where data lives: -v vs --mount and the traps.
Docker Compose: bring up many containers at once.

Reference: docs.docker.com/reference/cli/docker

Overview

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Docker

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Networking & Self-hosting

Common Docker CLI Commands

Container lifecycle

Key `docker run` flags

Inspect and debug

Image commands

Cleanup commands

Multiple daemons and diagnostics

Deprecated items (as of 2026-06)

Next

​Container lifecycle

​Key docker run flags

​Inspect and debug

​Image commands

​Cleanup commands

​Multiple daemons and diagnostics

​Deprecated items (as of 2026-06)

​Next

Container lifecycle

Key `docker run` flags

Inspect and debug

Image commands

Cleanup commands

Multiple daemons and diagnostics

Deprecated items (as of 2026-06)

Next