Docker Commands Cheat Sheet: Essential Commands

Docker packages applications into containers that run consistently across environments. This cheat sheet covers the commands you use most often.

Container Lifecycle

docker run -d -p 8080:80 --name myapp nginx
docker ps                    # Running containers
docker ps -a                 # All containers
docker stop myapp
docker start myapp
docker restart myapp
docker rm myapp              # Remove container
docker rm -f myapp           # Force remove running

Images

docker images               # List images
docker pull nginx:latest
docker build -t myapp:1.0 .
docker rmi myapp:1.0         # Remove image
docker image prune           # Remove unused images

Logs and Debugging

docker logs myapp
docker logs -f myapp         # Follow logs
docker exec -it myapp bash   # Shell into container
docker exec myapp cat /etc/os-release
docker inspect myapp
docker stats                 # Resource usage

Volumes

docker volume create mydata
docker volume ls
docker run -v mydata:/data nginx
docker volume rm mydata
docker volume prune

Networking

docker network ls
docker network create mynet
docker run --network mynet nginx
docker network inspect mynet

Docker Compose

docker compose up -d        # Start services
docker compose down          # Stop and remove
docker compose ps            # List services
docker compose logs -f       # Follow logs
docker compose build         # Build images
docker compose restart       # Restart services

Cleanup

docker system prune          # Remove unused data
docker system prune -a       # Remove all unused
docker container prune       # Stop containers
docker image prune -a        # Unused images

Common Patterns

# Run temporary container
docker run --rm ubuntu echo "hello"

# Port mapping
docker run -p 3000:3000 myapp

# Environment variables
docker run -e NODE_ENV=production myapp

# Copy files
docker cp myapp:/app/logs ./logs

Tip

Use YAML to JSON to convert Docker Compose YAML configs to JSON for inspection or use in other tools.