Docker Commands Cheat Sheet: The 40 You'll Actually Use

The Docker commands you'll use day to day, grouped by job. New to Docker? Start with What is Docker? and Docker image vs container.

Running containers

docker run nginx                          # run a container (foreground)
docker run -d nginx                       # run in the background (detached)
docker run -d --name web nginx            # give it a name
docker run -d -p 8080:80 nginx            # publish port: host 8080 → container 80
docker run -e API_KEY=abc myapp           # set an environment variable
docker run --env-file .env myapp          # load variables from a file
docker run -v mydata:/data myapp          # attach a named volume
docker run -v "$(pwd)":/app myapp         # mount the current folder
docker run --rm -it node:24 bash          # throwaway interactive shell
docker run -d --restart unless-stopped myapp   # restart automatically

Seeing what's running

docker ps                   # running containers
docker ps -a                # all containers, including stopped
docker stats                # live CPU/memory per container
docker top web              # processes inside a container
docker inspect web          # everything about a container (JSON)
docker port web             # its published ports

Logs

docker logs web             # all logs
docker logs -f web          # follow live
docker logs --tail 100 web  # last 100 lines
docker logs --since 10m web # last 10 minutes

The first place to look when something's wrong. (Docker container keeps restarting)

Getting inside

docker exec -it web sh      # open a shell in a running container (bash if available)
docker exec web ls /app     # run one command
docker cp web:/app/log.txt .   # copy a file out
docker cp ./config.json web:/app/   # copy a file in

Stopping and removing

docker stop web             # graceful stop
docker kill web             # immediate stop
docker start web            # start a stopped container
docker restart web
docker rm web               # remove a stopped container
docker rm -f web            # stop and remove

Images

docker images               # list images
docker pull postgres:18     # download an image
docker build -t myapp .     # build from the Dockerfile here
docker build -t myapp:1.2 --platform linux/amd64 .
docker tag myapp you/myapp:1.2
docker push you/myapp:1.2   # upload to a registry
docker rmi myapp            # remove an image
docker history myapp        # layers and their sizes

(Dockerfile explained, exec format error)

Volumes

docker volume ls
docker volume create pgdata
docker volume inspect pgdata
docker volume rm pgdata     # ⚠ deletes the data

(Docker volumes vs bind mounts)

Networks

docker network ls
docker network create mynet
docker run -d --network mynet --name db postgres:18
docker network inspect mynet

Containers on the same user-defined network reach each other by name. (Container networking internals)

Docker Compose

docker compose up -d            # start all services
docker compose up -d --build    # rebuild then start
docker compose ps
docker compose logs -f web
docker compose exec db psql -U postgres
docker compose restart web
docker compose pull             # update images
docker compose down             # stop and remove containers
docker compose down -v          # ⚠ also removes volumes

(Docker vs Docker Compose)

Cleaning up disk space

Docker quietly fills disks with old images, stopped containers and build cache.

docker system df                # what's using space
docker container prune          # remove stopped containers
docker image prune              # remove dangling images
docker image prune -a           # remove all unused images
docker builder prune            # clear build cache
docker system prune             # all of the above (not volumes)
docker system prune -a --volumes   # ⚠ everything unused, including volumes

A full disk breaks builds and databases. (No space left on device)

Useful flags to remember

Flag	Meaning
-d	Run in background
-it	Interactive terminal
-p host:container	Publish a port
-v src:dest	Mount a volume or folder
-e KEY=value	Environment variable
--rm	Remove container when it exits
--name	Name the container
-f	Follow (logs) / force (rm)

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Related: What Is Docker? · Docker vs Docker Compose · Dockerfile Explained · Basic Linux Commands