The Ultimate Docker Cheatsheet

Docker has completely transformed how software is built, shipped, and run. Whether you're containerizing a local development environment or deploying microservices to production, this cheatsheet provides the essential commands and concepts you need.

Docker Commands (The Basics)

The core commands for interacting with the Docker engine.

# Check Docker version and info
docker version
docker info
 
# Log in to a Docker registry (like Docker Hub)
docker login
 
# Search for an image on Docker Hub
docker search nginx

Build Docker Images

Images are the read-only templates used to create containers.

# Pull an image from Docker Hub
docker pull ubuntu:22.04
 
# Build an image from a Dockerfile in the current directory
# -t tags the image with a name and optional tag
docker build -t my-app:latest .
 
# Build an image using a specific Dockerfile
docker build -f Dockerfile.dev -t my-app-dev .
 
# List all local images
docker images
 
# Remove an image
docker rmi my-app:latest
 
# Remove all unused, dangling images
docker image prune

Container Management

Containers are the running instances of Docker images.

# Run a container from an image
# -d runs it in the background (detached mode)
# -p maps the host port to the container port
docker run -d -p 8080:80 my-app:latest
 
# Run an interactive shell inside a new container
docker run -it ubuntu:22.04 /bin/bash
 
# List running containers
docker ps
 
# List ALL containers (including stopped ones)
docker ps -a
 
# Start or Stop an existing container
docker start <container_id_or_name>
docker stop <container_id_or_name>
 
# Execute a command in a RUNNING container
docker exec -it <container_id_or_name> /bin/bash
 
# View logs for a specific container
docker logs <container_id_or_name>
 
# Follow (tail) logs in real-time
docker logs -f <container_id_or_name>
 
# Remove a stopped container
docker rm <container_id_or_name>
 
# Force remove a running container
docker rm -f <container_id_or_name>
 
# Remove all stopped containers
docker container prune

Docker Compose Basics

Docker Compose is a tool for defining and running multi-container Docker applications using a docker-compose.yml file.

# Example docker-compose.yml
version: '3.8'
services:
  web:
    build: .
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    depends_on:
      - db
  db:
    image: postgres:14
    environment:
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: secretpassword

# Start all services defined in docker-compose.yml (in the background)
docker compose up -d
 
# Stop and remove containers, networks, and volumes
docker compose down
 
# View logs for all services
docker compose logs -f
 
# View logs for a specific service
docker compose logs -f web
 
# Rebuild images before starting services
docker compose up -d --build
 
# Run a one-off command against a service
docker compose run web npm run test

Docker Networking

Docker handles communication between containers and the outside world via networks.

# List all networks
docker network ls
 
# Create a new custom network
docker network create my-network
 
# Connect a running container to a network
docker network connect my-network <container_id_or_name>
 
# Disconnect a container from a network
docker network disconnect my-network <container_id_or_name>
 
# Inspect a network (shows connected containers and IP addresses)
docker network inspect my-network

[!TIP] By default, containers on the same custom network can talk to each other using their container names as hostnames!

The Ultimate Docker Cheatsheet

The Ultimate Docker Cheatsheet

Docker Commands (The Basics)

Build Docker Images

Container Management

Docker Compose Basics

Docker Networking

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