Common Commands in Docker: What You Need to Know

Docker is a computer program that performs OS-level virtualization, also known as "containerization".

1. Export nginx server container with a single command

 docker container run --publish 80:80 nginx 

Executing the above command will work as follows:

• Download the 'nginx' image from the Docker hub.
• Start a new container from that image.
• Open port 80 on the server IP.
• Routing traffic to IP containers, port 80.

2. Run a container in the background

 docker container run --publish 80:80 --detach nginx 

This command runs on nginx server in the background. Option to detach Docker running container in the background.

3. List all running containers

 docker container ls 

The above command lists all containers in Docker and their status.

4. Stop a container

 docker container stop {containerID} 

ContainerID can be found using the ls command listing the list of all containers. The container ID may be several digits, as long as it is unique.

5. Run the new container with the specified name

 docker container run --publish 80:80 --detach --name linuxhost nginx 

A new container with nginx web server image starts with the name linuxhost.

6. View container log

 docker container logs {containerName} 

The above command displays the log for the specified container. The name of the container can be obtained using the ls command listing the list of all containers.

7. See the running processes in a container

 docker container top {containerName} 

This command lists all running processes in the container. The name of the container can be obtained using the ls command listing the list of all containers.

8. List all commands with the help command

 docker container --help 

This command lists all user commands that can be performed on a container.

9. List all containers

 docker container ls -a 

This command lists all containers with any status in Docker.

10. Delete container by container ID

 docker container rm {containerID1} {containerID2} . 

This command will delete all non-running ID containers specified by spaces.

11. Force removal of running containers

 docker container rm -f {containerID} 

The -f option allows the rm command to remove a container running in Docker.

12. Delete all containers with wildcards instead

 docker stop $(docker ps -a -q) docker rm $ (docker ps -a -q) 

• 5 tips to learn Docker effectively for beginners
• How to safely check desktop applications with Docker
• 5 useful tips to learn Docker