Docker Cheat Sheet
Quick reference guide for Docker commands, Dockerfile directives, Compose syntax, and storage drivers.
Image Commands
| Command / Pattern | Description |
|---|---|
docker build -t name:tag . | Build an image from a Dockerfile in current directory using BuildKit. |
docker pull name:tag | Fetch an image manifest and layer blobs from an OCI registry. |
docker push name:tag | Upload local image layers and manifest to a target registry. |
docker images | List locally cached images with repository, tag, ID, and size. |
docker rmi image_id | Remove specified image layers from host local storage if unused. |
docker history image_id | Inspect step instructions and size contribution of each layer blob. |
docker inspect image_id | Output full JSON metadata spec for an image manifest. |
Container Lifecycle Commands
| Command / Pattern | Description |
|---|---|
docker run -d -p 8080:80 --name app image | Launch container detached in background with host-to-container port mapping. |
docker ps -a | List all container process instances (running, stopped, exited). |
docker exec -it container_id /bin/sh | Open an interactive pseudo-TTY shell inside a running container. |
docker logs -f --tail 100 container_id | Stream container stdout/stderr log stream continuously. |
docker stop container_id | Send SIGTERM signal to main process, defaulting to SIGKILL after 10 seconds. |
docker rm -f container_id | Forcefully kill running container process and delete its top write layer. |
docker stats | Display live stream of container CPU, memory, network I/O usage. |
Docker Compose
| Command / Pattern | Description |
|---|---|
docker compose up -d | Build, recreate, and start multi-container environment in detached mode. |
docker compose down -v | Stop services and purge internal networks and named volume mounts. |
docker compose logs -f service_name | Tail output logs for a specific service defined in compose file. |
docker compose ps | List status and ports of containers linked to current compose context. |
Dockerfile Directives
| Command / Pattern | Description |
|---|---|
FROM image:tag AS stage | Specify base image layer and assign stage name for multi-stage builds. |
RUN command | Execute shell build command, committing output as a new read-only image layer. |
COPY --from=stage src dst | Copy files from host build context or earlier stage build artifact. |
ENV KEY=VALUE | Set environment variable persistent in both build steps and runtime process. |
CMD ["executable", "arg1"] | Define default execution arguments for container launch (overridable by CLI). |
ENTRYPOINT ["executable"] | Set fixed binary executable for container runtime process. |