Docker Commands Cheat Sheet [With Examples]

Docker is one of the pillars of DevOps practices and runs on nearly every modern internet platform. Working with it day to day means reaching for the same set of commands to build images, run containers, manage networks and volumes, and clean up afterward.

You will find those commands here, grouped by what they do and paired with short examples. Keep the page open in a second tab, and you can pull up the right command without digging through the full CLI reference.

#What is Docker?

Docker is a tool designed to make it easier to create, deploy, and run applications using containers, and it has seen broad adoption in microservices development. Docker containers allow developers to package an application with all its dependencies into a standardized unit for software development.

#What are Docker commands?

Docker commands allow you to build, run, manage, and deploy Docker containers. For such complex projects, Docker provides a command-line interface (CLI) that manages containers and images and performs general Docker tasks.

The CLI ships with dozens of commands, which this cheat sheet groups into clear categories: management, Docker Hub, images, containers, networks, volumes, cleanup, output formatting, Compose, and Swarm.

#Prerequisites

To follow along and test these Docker commands, you will need:

• A current Ubuntu LTS release, such as Ubuntu 24.04 or 26.04;

• Docker Engine installed and running, version 29.x or later;

• A system account with administrative privileges and sudo permissions.

#Basic Docker commands cheat sheet

The sections below cover the core Docker commands and how to use them. For a clear overview, the commands are split into these categories:

• Docker management commands

• Docker Hub commands

• Docker images command

• Docker container commands

• Docker network commands

• Docker volume commands

• Docker Swarm commands

• Docker system and cleanup commands

• Output formatting and filtering

• Essential Docker Compose commands

#1. Docker management commands

The Docker management commands are general commands used to get system information or help from Docker CLI.

We will start with the command that lists all the other commands, docker --help.

docker --help

To get help from Docker.

docker --help

You can also use --help on all subcommands.

dockerd

To start the Docker daemon.

dockerd

In practice, the daemon runs as a service, so you start it with sudo systemctl start docker.

docker info

To display Docker system-wide information.

docker info

docker version

To display the current installed Docker version.

docker version

#2. Docker Hub commands

Docker Hub is a service provided by Docker that hosts container images. You can download and even push your own images to Docker Hub, making it accessible to everyone connected to the service.

The Docker Hub-related commands are:

docker login

To login into Docker.

docker login -u <username>

docker push

To publish an image to Docker Hub.

docker push <username>/<image_name>

docker search

To search for an image in Docker Hub.

docker search <image_name>

For example, you can search for all images containing the word umami, which is a self-hosted analytic platform:

docker search umami

OutputNAME                 DESCRIPTION                                     STARS OFFICIAL  
umamisoftware/umami  Umami is a simple, fast, privacy-focused alt... 12  
elestio/umami        Umami, verified and packaged by Elestio         3  
sparanoid/umami      Mirror of ghcr.io/umami-software/umami          4

The command also returns the image rating and whether it is an official image provided by the product developers.

docker pull

To pull an image from the Docker Hub.

docker pull is one of the most common Docker commands:

docker pull <image_name>

To run a container, we need to first pull the container and then run it.

The previous hub-tool blockquote was removed here. The project is largely inactive.

#3. Docker images command

The commands below let you work with Docker images.

docker build

To build an image from a Dockerfile.

docker build

Developers often use this command to create a Docker container based on their local files and folders.

Check how to build a Docker image from a Dockerfile here.

docker commit

To create a new image from a container's changes.

docker commit <container_name>

docker history

To show the history of an image.

docker history <container_name>

docker images

To list images.

docker images

docker import

To import the contents from a tarball to create a filesystem image.

docker import

docker load

To load an image from a tar archive or STDIN.

docker load

docker rmi

To remove one or more images.

docker rmi <container_name>

Tip: For more on Docker images, check our in-depth tutorials on how to update a Docker image and how to remove Docker images, including removing one image, dangling images, and how to remove all Docker images.

docker save

To save images to a tar archive or STDOUT.

docker save <container_name>

docker tag

To tag an image into a repository.

docker tag

docker scout cves

To scan an image for known vulnerabilities.

docker scout cves <image_name>

docker scout replaces the deprecated docker sbom command. To generate a software bill of materials, use docker scout sbom <image_name>.

#4. Docker container commands

Managing containers is a day-to-day activity of DevOps teams. Here is a list of Docker commands to manage containers.

docker run --name

To create and run a container from an image.

docker run --name <container_name> <image_name>

docker run -p

To run a container with port mapping.

docker run -p <host_port>:<container_port> <image_name>

docker run -d

To run a container in the background.

docker run -d <image_name>

docker start|stop

To start or stop an existing container.

docker start|stop <container_name> (or <container-id>)

docker rm

To remove a stopped container.

docker rm <container_name>

docker exec -it

To open a shell inside a running container.

docker exec -it <container_name> sh

In our comprehensive tutorial, you can find more information on how to use Docker exec.

docker logs

To fetch and follow the logs of a container.

docker logs -f <container_name>

For more on Docker logs, head to our How to view Docker container logs tutorial.

docker inspect

To inspect a running container.

docker inspect <container_name> (or <container_id>)

docker ps

To list currently running containers.

docker ps

docker ps -a

To list all docker containers.

docker ps -a

docker stats

To view a live stream of container resource usage.

docker stats

docker container stats is the equivalent command under the container management group.

docker restart

To restart a running or stopped container.

docker restart <container_name>

docker pause|unpause

To suspend or resume all processes in a container.

docker pause <container_name>
docker unpause <container_name>

docker kill

To force-stop a running container by sending it a SIGKILL.

docker kill <container_name>

docker rename

To rename an existing container.

docker rename <old_name> <new_name>

docker cp

To copy files or folders between a container and the host.

docker cp <container_name>:/path/in/container /path/on/host

docker top

To show the running processes inside a container.

docker top <container_name>

docker update

To change a running container's configuration, such as CPU, memory, or restart policy.

docker update --memory 512m <container_name>

#5. Docker network commands

Docker allows containers to communicate between each other. This can be done via Docker networks. Below are the Docker network commands:

docker network create

To create a new Docker network.

docker network create <network_name>

docker network connect

To connect a container to a network.

docker network connect <network_name> <container_name>

docker network disconnect

To disconnect a container from a network.

docker network disconnect <network_name> <container_name>

docker network inspect

To display information about a Docker network.

docker network inspect <network_name>

docker network ls

To list all the networks.

docker network ls

docker network rm

To remove one or more networks.

docker network rm <network_name>

#6. Docker volume commands

Docker volumes are used for permanent data storage. Containers mount those volumes and make them accessible from inside the containers.

Here are the Docker commands related to volume management.

docker volume create

To create a new Docker volume.

docker volume create <volume_name>

docker volume ls

To list all Docker volumes.

docker volume ls

docker volume rm

To remove one or more volumes.

docker volume rm <volume_name>

docker volume inspect

To display volume information.

docker volume inspect <volume_name>

For more information on volume management, check our detailed tutorial on how to use Docker volumes.

#7. Docker Swarm commands

Docker Swarm Mode is an advanced Docker feature for managing a cluster of Docker daemons in production environments. A swarm consists of a swarm manager and nodes where services are deployed.

Docker Swarm mode supports scaling, container replicas, network overlays, encrypted communications, service discovery, and rolling updates across multiple machines.

docker node ls

To list nodes.

docker node ls

docker service create

To create a new service.

docker service create <service_name>

docker service ls

To list services.

docker service ls

docker service scale

To scale services.

docker service scale service_name=no. of replicas

docker service rm

To remove a service from the swarm.

docker service rm <service_name>

Docker Swarm mode is complex and offers many advanced Docker commands and functionalities. For more information, check our guide on how to get started with Docker Swarm container orchestration.

#8. Docker system and cleanup commands

Over time, stopped containers, unused images, and orphaned volumes build up and consume disk space. The commands below report that usage and reclaim the space.

docker system df

To see how much disk space images, containers, and volumes are using.

docker system df

docker system prune

To remove stopped containers, dangling images, and unused networks in one step.

docker system prune

Add -a to also remove unused images, and --volumes to include unused volumes. Both permanently delete data, so review the output prompt before confirming.

docker image prune

To remove dangling images that are no longer tagged.

docker image prune

docker container prune

To remove every stopped container at once.

docker container prune

docker volume prune

To remove volumes that have no container references.

docker volume prune

#9. Output formatting and filtering

Most listing commands accept flags that trim and reshape their output, making them practical for scripts and on busy servers.

Format output with --format

To print only the columns you care about, pass a Go template.

docker ps --format ': '

Recent Docker versions also expose a .HealthStatus placeholder, so you can print a container's health state alongside its status.

Filter results with --filter

To narrow a list to entries that match a condition.

docker ps --filter "status=running"

Return IDs only with -q

To output just the IDs, which is useful for chaining commands.

docker rm $(docker ps -aq)

#10. Essential Docker Compose commands

Docker Compose runs multi-container applications from a single YAML file. Compose V2 ships as a CLI plugin, so you call it as docker compose with a space. The older docker-compose binary with a hyphen has reached end of life.

docker compose up

To create and start every service defined in the Compose file. Add -d to run them in the background.

docker compose up -d

docker compose down

To stop and remove the containers, networks, and default volumes that up created.

docker compose down

For the full set of Compose commands, see our Docker Compose cheat sheet.

#Conclusion

This cheat sheet pulled together the Docker commands you reach for most: building images, running and inspecting containers, wiring up networks and volumes, reclaiming disk space, formatting output, and managing Compose and Swarm. With these grouped by task, you can find the right one quickly instead of memorizing the whole CLI.

From here, bookmark the official Docker CLI reference for the full flag list on any command, and pair this page with our deeper guides on building images, managing volumes, and Docker Compose as your setup grows.