Basic Docker Commands

• docker version: Retrieve installed Docker version details
• docker info: View full Docker system overview, including total images, containers, and storage driver info
• docker --help: Access built-in Docker help documentation for command references

Image Management Commands

• docker images: List all locally stored Docker images
• docker search <image-name>: Search for official and community images on Docker Hub
• docker pull <image-name>:<tag>: Download a specified image from Docker Hub; omitting the tag defaults to the latest version
• docker rmi <image-id>: Delete a local image by its ID
• docker image prune: Remove all unused local images not referenced by any container

Container Management Commands

• docker run [OPTIONS] IMAGE [COMMAND] [ARG...]: Create and launch a new cotnainer from a specified image
• docker ps: List currently running containers; add the -a flag to show all containers including stopped ones
• docker stop <container-id/name>: Gracefully stop a running container
• docker start <container-id/name>: Launch a previously stopped container
• docker restart <container-id/name>: Restart a running or stopped container
• docker rm <container-id/name>: Delete a stopped container; use the -f flag to force remove a running container
• docker exec -it <container-id/name> /bin/sh: Attach an interactive shell to a running container

Core Container Operation Examples

1. Pull the official Nginx image:

docker pull nginx:latest

2. List all local images:

docker images

3. Create and run a detached Nginx container named web-demo mapped to host port 8080:

docker run --name web-demo -p 8080:80 -d nginx:latest

4. View all containers (running and stopped):

docker ps -a

5. Stop the web-demo container:

docker stop web-demo

6. Reactivate the stopped web-demo container:

docker start web-demo

7. Delete the stopped web-demo container:

docker rm web-demo

8. Attach an interactive shell to the running web-demo container:

docker exec -it web-demo /bin/bash

Network Management Commands

• docker network ls: List all existing Docker networks
• docker network create <network-name>: Create a custom Docker bridge network
• docker network rm <network-name>: Delete an unused Docker network
• docker network connect <network-name> <container-name>: Attach a container to a specified network
• docker network disconnect <network-name> <container-name>: Remove a container from a specified network

Volume Management Commands

• docker volume ls: List all locally created Docker volumes
• docker volume create <volume-name>: Create a named Docker volume for persistent storage
• docker volume inspect <volume-name>: View detailed configuration and path info for a volume
• docker volume rm <volume-name>: Delete an unused Docker volume

Docker Compose Commands

Docker Compose is a tool for defining and running multi-container Docker applications using YAML configuration files.

• docker-compose up -d: Launch all services defined in docker-compose.yml in detached mode
• docker-compose down --volumes: Stop and remove all services, along with associated volumes
• docker-compose ps: List active Compose-managed services
• docker-compose logs <service-name>: View log output for a specified service
• docker-compose exec <service-name> <command>: Run a command inside a running Compose service

Docker Swarm Cluster Commands

Docker Swarm provides native container orchestration for deploying and managing clustered container applications.

• docker swarm init --advertise-addr <node-ip>: Initialize a new Swarm cluster on the current node
• docker swarm join --token <join-token> <manager-ip:port>: Add a worker node to an existing Swarm cluster
• docker node ls: List all nodes in the active Swarm cluster
• docker service create --replicas 3 -p 80:80 --name web-service nginx:latest: Deploy a replicated service on the Swarm
• docker service ls: List all services running in the Swarm cluster
• docker service scale web-service=5: Adjust the number of replicas for a Swarm service
• docker service rm web-service: Remove a specifeid Swarm service

Advanced Container and Image Operations

1. Create a custom image from a modified container: First list all containers to get the target ID:

docker ps -a

Then commit the changes to a new image:

docker commit <container-id> custom-nginx:v1

2. Export a container to a tar archive:

docker export <container-id> > demo-container.tar

3. Import an exported tar archive as a new image:

cat demo-container.tar | docker import - imported-image:v1

4. Save a local image to a compressed tar file:

docker save -o nginx-backup.tar nginx:latest

5. Load an image from a tar archive:

docker load -i nginx-backup.tar

6. Build an image from a Dockerfile in the current directory:

docker build -t my-app:v1 .

7. View real-time resource usage for a running container:

docker stats web-demo

8. Clean up unused Docker resources:
   • Remove all stopped containers: docker container prune
   • Remove all unused volumes: docker volume prune
   • Remove all unused images, networks, and volumes: docker system prune -a