In this tutorial, we are going to show you the ten most used Docker commands you should know.
Docker is an open-source platform service used for running applications in isolated environments called containers. The containers have their own structure, with encapsulated services that can not interfere with the work of the main server. In this tutorial, we are going to use the Ubuntu 22.04 OS, but you can choose any Linux distro you want.
First, we will install the docker and then show you the ten most used docker commands. Let’s get started!
Table of Contents
Prerequisites
A server with Ubuntu 22.04 as OS
User privileges: root or non-root user with sudo privileges
Update the System
Before we start with the installation of Docker, we will update the system packages to their latest versions available:
sudo apt-get update -y && sudo apt-get upgrade -y
Install Docker
First, we need to install some Docker dependencies:
The Docker run command is used for creating a container from an image.
docker run hello-world
You should receive output similar to this:
root@host:~# docker run hello-world
Hello from Docker!
This message shows that your installation appears to be working correctly.
To generate this message, Docker took the following steps:
1. The Docker client contacted the Docker daemon.
2. The Docker daemon pulled the "hello-world" image from the Docker Hub.
(amd64)
3. The Docker daemon created a new container from that image which runs the
executable that produces the output you are currently reading.
4. The Docker daemon streamed that output to the Docker client, which sent it
to your terminal.
5. Docker ps
The docker ps command is used for listing the running containers. Let’s execute this command: docker ps
root@host:~# docker ps
CONTAINER ID IMAGE COMMAND CREATED STATUS PORTS NAMES
d2a01e103a5d wordpress "docker-entrypoint.s…" 6 minutes ago Up 6 minutes 0.0.0.0:80->80/tcp, :::80->80/tcp wordpress
3ac6a4cf7b0c mariadb:latest "docker-entrypoint.s…" 8 minutes ago Up 8 minutes 3306/tcp wordpressdb
As you can see, there are two running containers on our system.
6. Docker start
Docker start is used for starting the stopped containers. Let’s first list the stopped containers:
docker ps -a
You will receive an output similar to this:
root@host:~# docker ps -a
CONTAINER ID IMAGE COMMAND CREATED STATUS PORTS NAMES
d2a01e103a5d wordpress "docker-entrypoint.s…" 25 minutes ago Exited (0) About a minute ago wordpress
3ac6a4cf7b0c mariadb:latest "docker-entrypoint.s…" 28 minutes ago Exited (0) About a minute ago wordpressdb
Remember that we start the containers using their IDs. To start both containers, execute the following commands:
root@host:~# docker ps -a
CONTAINER ID IMAGE COMMAND CREATED STATUS PORTS NAMES
10. Docker Help
If you want to know more about the docker, you can simply execute the docker help command. You should receive the following output:
root@host:~# docker help
Usage: docker [OPTIONS] COMMAND
A self-sufficient runtime for containers
Options:
--config string Location of client config files (default "/root/.docker")
-c, --context string Name of the context to use to connect to the daemon (overrides DOCKER_HOST env var and default context set with "docker context use")
-D, --debug Enable debug mode
-H, --host list Daemon socket(s) to connect to
-l, --log-level string Set the logging level ("debug"|"info"|"warn"|"error"|"fatal") (default "info")
--tls Use TLS; implied by --tlsverify
--tlscacert string Trust certs signed only by this CA (default "/root/.docker/ca.pem")
--tlscert string Path to TLS certificate file (default "/root/.docker/cert.pem")
--tlskey string Path to TLS key file (default "/root/.docker/key.pem")
--tlsverify Use TLS and verify the remote
-v, --version Print version information and quit
Congratulations! You just learned something about Docker commands with real examples. If learning Docker is difficult, you can sign up for one of our NVMe VPS hosting plans, and we will install and configure Docker for you. You can contact us anytime you want. We are available 24/7.
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