Docker Basics

Essential Docker commands for everyday container management.

Container Lifecycle

# Run a container
docker run nginx

# Run in detached mode
docker run -d nginx

# Run with port mapping
docker run -d -p 8080:80 nginx

# Run with name
docker run -d --name my-nginx nginx

# Run with environment variables
docker run -d -e MY_VAR=value nginx

# Run with volume mount
docker run -d -v /host/path:/container/path nginx

Managing Containers

# List running containers
docker ps

# List all containers
docker ps -a

# Stop a container
docker stop container_name

# Start a stopped container
docker start container_name

# Restart a container
docker restart container_name

# Remove a container
docker rm container_name

# Force remove running container
docker rm -f container_name

Container Interaction

# Execute command in container
docker exec -it container_name bash

# View container logs
docker logs container_name

# Follow logs
docker logs -f container_name

# Copy files to/from container
docker cp file.txt container_name:/path/
docker cp container_name:/path/file.txt ./