Frequently Used Docker Commands

docker version

Client:
 Version:           27.5.1-rd
 API version:       1.47
 Go version:        go1.22.11
 Git commit:        0c97515
 Built:             Thu Jan 23 18:12:38 2025
 OS/Arch:           darwin/arm64
 Context:           desktop-linux

Server: Docker Desktop 4.42.0 (195023)
 Engine:
  Version:          28.2.2
  API version:      1.50 (minimum version 1.24)
  Go version:       go1.24.3
  Git commit:       45873be
  Built:            Fri May 30 12:07:27 2025
  OS/Arch:          linux/arm64
  Experimental:     false
 containerd:
  Version:          1.7.27
  GitCommit:        05044ec0a9a75232cad458027ca83437aae3f4da
 runc:
  Version:          1.2.5
  GitCommit:        v1.2.5-0-g59923ef
 docker-init:
  Version:          0.19.0
  GitCommit:        de40ad0

1. Image & Container Management

Command	Description
docker pull <image-name>	Pull image from registry
docker create --name <container-name> <image-name>	Create container without running it
docker run -it --name <container-name> <image-name>	Create and Run container interactively
docker exec -it <container-name> <command>	Execute command in running container
docker ps -a	List all containers
docker start <container-name>	Start container
docker stop <container-name>	Stop container
docker logs <container-name>	Show logs
docker rm <container-name>	Remove container
docker rmi <image-name>	Remove image

2. Volume Management

Command	Description
docker volume ls	List volumes
docker volume create <volume-name>	Create volume
docker volume rm <volume-name>	Remove volume
docker run -v <volume-name>:<container-path> <image-name>	Mount volume to container
docker run -v <host-path>:<container-path> <image-name>	Mount host path to container

Press Ctrl + p + q to exit the terminal without stopping the container

3. System Management

Command	Description
docker system df -v	Show Docker daemon disk usage
docker system prune	Remove unused data

4. Docker Prune Commands Comparison

The commands below prune the checked column items

Command	Stopped Containers	Unused Networks	Build Cache (Unused)	Build Cache (All)	Dangling Images	All Unused Images	Unused Anonymous Volumes	Unused Named Volumes
docker system \ prune	✅	✅	✅	❌	✅	❌	❌	❌
docker system \ prune -a	✅	✅	✅	❌	✅	✅	❌	❌
docker system \ prune --volumes	✅	✅	✅	❌	✅	❌	✅	❌
docker system \ prune -a --volumes	✅	✅	✅	❌	✅	✅	✅	❌
docker container \ prune	✅	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌
docker image \ prune	❌	❌	❌	❌	✅	❌	❌	❌
docker image \ prune -a	❌	❌	❌	❌	✅	✅	❌	❌
docker volume \ prune	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌	✅	❌
docker volume \ prune -a	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌	✅	✅
docker builder \ prune	❌	❌	✅	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌
docker builder \ prune -a	❌	❌	❌	✅	❌	❌	❌	❌

Stopped Containers: These are containers that are no longer running but still exist on your Docker system. They result from docker run commands followed by a stop or exit.

Unused Networks: These are networks** not currently connected to any running containers or services**. Networks can often persist even after the containers using them are removed.

Build Cache (Unused): These are intermediate layers created during the Docker image build process. While they speed up future builds, unreferenced or unnecessary cache layers can accumulate. Commands like docker system prune or docker builder prune (without -a) target these.

Build Cache (All): This refers to the forcible deletion of all build cache, including actively used or recently accessed cache layers. The docker builder prune -a command performs this comprehensive cleanup. Be aware that this can significantly increase your next build time.

Dangling Images: These are images that have no tag (e.g., latest, v1.0) and are not referenced by any containers. They often appear when you rebuild an image, causing the older version to lose its tag.

All Unused Images: This includes dangling images, plus any other images that have tags but are not currently used by any running containers. Commands like docker system prune -a or docker image prune -a target this broader category of images.

Unused Anonymous Volumes: These are volumes created without a specific name (e.g., via docker run -v /path/in/container) that are no longer associated with any containers. This means that the associated containers have already been removed.

Unused Named Volumes: These are named volumes (e.g., created with docker volume create my-volume) that are no longer associated with any containers. This means that the associated containers have already been removed.

Orphaned Containers: These are stopped containers that exist but cannot be restarted because their associated images have been removed. This typically happens when you run docker image prune -a while having stopped containers. These containers are essentially useless since they cannot be started without their images.

5. Examples

# Pull Ubuntu image
docker image pull ubuntu:24.04

# Run Ubuntu container
docker container run -it -v ./test-volume:/home/ubuntu --name ubuntu-test ubuntu:24.04

# Execute bash in container
docker container exec -it ubuntu-test /bin/bash

6. Docker Compose Commands

Command	Description
docker compose up	Apply changed compose.yml and start services
docker compose up <service-name>	Start a specific service
docker compose down	Remove containers and networks created by up
docker compose down -v	Remove containers, networks, and volumes created by up
docker compose ls	List all projects

docker compose up --build rebuilds the images