Create and run a new container from an image

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docker container run -it --rm ubuntu /bin/bash
  • -i or --interactive: Keep STDIN open even if not attached
  • -t or --tty: Allocate a pseudo-TTY
  • --rm: Automatically remove the container when it exits
  • --name: Assign a name to the container
  • -d or --detach: Run container in background and print container ID

Aliases: docker container run, docker run

List containers

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docker container ps -a
  • -a or --all: Show all containers (default shows just running)

Aliases: docker container ls, docker container list, docker container ps, docker ps

Start or stop a container

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docker container stop container_name

Remove containers

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docker container rm -f $(docker container ps -aq)
  • -q or --quiet: Only display container IDs

Run a container as a daemon:

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docker container run -d --name "test-nginx" -p 8080:80 -v $(pwd):/usr/share/nginx/html:ro nginx:latest
  • -p: port mapping, host_port:container_port
  • -v: volume mounting, host_dir:container_dir
  • $(pwd): current working dir

Check the information of a resource(container or image or volume or network):

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docker container inspect container_name

Write a basic Dockerfile:

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FROM        # Set a base image
RUN         # Execute a command in the container
ENV         # Set an environment variable
WORKDIR     # Set the working directory
VOLUME      # Create a mount point for a volume
CMD         # Set executable for the container

Build an image from a Dockerfile

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docker build -t image_name .
  • .: Path to the context (. - current working directory)
  • -t or --tag: Name and optionally a tag (format: “name:tag”)
  • -f or --file: Name of the Dockerfile (default: “context_path/Dockerfile”)

Aliases: docker buildx build, docker buildx b

Access the Docker daemon as a non-root user

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groupadd docker
usermod -a -G docker $USER

Remove build cache

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# Check the disk usage of Docker
docker system df
# Remove Docker build cache
docker buildx prune -f

Rule of thumb

  • 1 app = 1 container
  • Processes should be running in the foreground
  • Keep data in volumes, not in containers
  • Do not use SSH, use docker exec instead
  • Avoid manual configurations inside containers

Happy containerizing! 🙂