Docker Commands Cheat Sheet

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Docker CLI commands for containers, images, volumes, networks, and Docker Compose

Container Commands

docker run

Create and start a new container

docker run nginx                  # run in foreground
docker run -d nginx               # detached (background)
docker run -d -p 8080:80 nginx    # map port 8080 -> 80
docker run -it ubuntu bash        # interactive shell
docker run --name myapp -d nginx  # named container

docker ps

List running containers

docker ps          # running containers
docker ps -a       # all containers (including stopped)

docker start/stop/rm

Manage container lifecycle

docker start myapp    # start stopped container
docker stop myapp     # gracefully stop
docker kill myapp     # force stop
docker rm myapp       # remove stopped container
docker rm -f myapp    # force remove running container

docker exec

Run a command in a running container

docker exec -it myapp bash       # interactive shell
docker exec myapp ls /app        # run single command
docker exec -it myapp sh -c "env"

docker logs

View container output logs

docker logs myapp          # show logs
docker logs -f myapp       # follow live logs
docker logs --tail 50 myapp  # last 50 lines

Image Commands

docker build

Build an image from a Dockerfile

docker build .                  # build from current directory
docker build -t myapp:1.0 .     # with tag
docker build -f Dockerfile.prod . # specify Dockerfile

docker pull/push

Download or upload images from a registry

docker pull node:18-alpine      # pull from Docker Hub
docker push myorg/myapp:1.0     # push to registry

docker images

List local images

docker images              # list all images
docker images -a           # include intermediate layers
docker rmi nginx           # remove image
docker image prune         # remove unused images

docker tag

Create an alias for an image

docker tag myapp:latest myorg/myapp:1.0
docker tag abc123def myapp:backup

Volume & Network

Volumes

Persist data outside container lifecycle

docker volume create mydata
docker run -v mydata:/app/data myapp   # named volume
docker run -v $(pwd):/app myapp        # bind mount
docker volume ls
docker volume rm mydata

Networks

Manage container networking

docker network create mynet
docker run --network mynet myapp
docker network ls
docker network inspect mynet

Docker Compose

docker compose up/down

Start and stop multi-container applications

docker compose up             # start all services
docker compose up -d          # detached mode
docker compose up --build     # rebuild images
docker compose down           # stop and remove containers
docker compose down -v        # also remove volumes

docker compose other

Useful compose commands for development

docker compose ps             # list services
docker compose logs -f        # follow all logs
docker compose exec web bash  # shell into service
docker compose restart web    # restart a service

Dockerfile Instructions

Common Instructions

Key Dockerfile directives and their usage

FROM node:18-alpine          # base image
WORKDIR /app                 # set working directory
COPY package*.json ./        # copy files
RUN npm ci --production      # run command during build
ENV NODE_ENV=production      # environment variable
EXPOSE 3000                  # document port
CMD ["node", "server.js"]    # default run command
ENTRYPOINT ["npm", "start"]  # fixed entrypoint

Common Patterns

Dockerfile for Node.js App

Production-ready Node.js Dockerfile with non-root user

FROM node:18-alpine AS base
WORKDIR /app

# Install dependencies
COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm ci --only=production

# Copy source
COPY . .

# Create non-root user
RUN addgroup -S appgroup && adduser -S appuser -G appgroup
USER appuser

EXPOSE 3000
CMD ["node", "server.js"]

docker-compose.yml

Multi-service compose file with database and web app

version: "3.9"
services:
  web:
    build: .
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    environment:
      - DATABASE_URL=postgres://user:pass@db:5432/mydb
    depends_on:
      - db
    volumes:
      - .:/app
      - /app/node_modules

  db:
    image: postgres:15-alpine
    environment:
      POSTGRES_USER: user
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: pass
      POSTGRES_DB: mydb
    volumes:
      - pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data

volumes:
  pgdata:

Multi-Stage Build

Smaller final image by separating build and runtime stages

# Build stage
FROM node:18-alpine AS builder
WORKDIR /app
COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm ci
COPY . .
RUN npm run build

# Runtime stage — only copy built artifacts
FROM node:18-alpine AS runner
WORKDIR /app
ENV NODE_ENV=production
COPY --from=builder /app/.next ./.next
COPY --from=builder /app/public ./public
COPY --from=builder /app/package.json ./
RUN npm ci --only=production
EXPOSE 3000
CMD ["npm", "start"]

Tips & Best Practices

Always use a .dockerignore file to exclude node_modules, .git, and secrets from build context

Use multi-stage builds to keep final images small — copy only the built artifacts

Tag images with specific versions, not just latest, for reproducible deployments

Run containers as a non-root user in production for better security

Use docker system prune regularly to reclaim disk space from unused images and containers

Additional Resources

Docker CLI Reference

Full Docker command-line reference

Docker Hub

Official Docker image registry

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