How do I stop all running Docker containers at once?

Use docker stop $(docker ps -q) to stop all running containers. The -q flag returns only container IDs, which are passed to docker stop.

How do I remove all unused Docker images?

Use docker image prune -a to remove all images not used by any container. Use docker system prune -a to remove everything unused: stopped containers, dangling images, unused networks, and build cache.

How do I run a Docker container in the background?

Use the -d (detached) flag: docker run -d image-name. The container runs in the background. Use docker logs container-id to view its output.

How do I access a running Docker container terminal?

Use docker exec -it container-name bash to open an interactive bash shell inside a running container. Replace bash with sh if bash is not available.

What is the difference between docker stop and docker kill?

docker stop sends SIGTERM for graceful shutdown then SIGKILL after a timeout. docker kill immediately sends SIGKILL, stopping the container instantly without cleanup.

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Docker Commands Cheat Sheet 2026 — Complete Reference for DevOps

By Jay, editor · Every shortcut on this site is verified by hand against official documentation · Updated July 2026

Published: March 20, 2026 · Updated: May 1, 2026 · 12 min read

Container Management
Image Commands
Volumes
Networks
Docker Compose
Logs & Monitoring
Building Images
Registry & Pushing
System Cleanup
Power Tips

Docker is the standard for packaging and running applications in containers. This cheat sheet covers every command you need in production — from basic container management to Docker Compose and system cleanup.

1. Container Management

Command	What it does
docker ps	List running containers
docker ps -a	List all containers including stopped
docker run -d --name my-app -p 8080:80 <image>	Run detached with name and port mapping
docker run -it <image> bash	Run with interactive terminal
docker run --rm <image>	Auto-remove container when it exits
docker run -e KEY=value <image>	Set environment variable
docker run -v /host/path:/container/path <image>	Mount a host directory as volume
docker start / stop / restart <container>	Start, stop, or restart a container
docker kill <container>	Immediately force-stop (SIGKILL)
docker rm <container>	Remove a stopped container
docker rm -f <container>	Force-remove a running container
docker exec -it <container> bash	Open shell inside running container
docker inspect <container>	Show detailed container info (JSON)
docker cp <container>:/path ./local	Copy file from container to host
docker stats	Live CPU/memory/network usage

Tip: Stop all running containers at once: docker stop $(docker ps -q)

2. Image Commands

Command	What it does
docker images	List local images
docker pull <image>:<tag>	Download image from registry
docker rmi <image>	Remove a local image
docker tag <image> <new-name>:<tag>	Tag an image with a new name
docker history <image>	Show image layer history
docker save -o image.tar <image>	Export image to tar file
docker load -i image.tar	Load image from tar file

3. Volumes

Command	What it does
docker volume ls	List all volumes
docker volume create <name>	Create a named volume
docker volume inspect <name>	Show volume details
docker volume rm <name>	Remove a volume
docker volume prune	Remove all unused volumes
docker run -v my-vol:/app/data <image>	Mount named volume into container

4. Networks

Command	What it does
docker network ls	List all networks
docker network create <name>	Create a custom bridge network
docker network connect <network> <container>	Connect container to a network
docker network disconnect <network> <container>	Disconnect container from network
docker network prune	Remove all unused networks
docker run --network host <image>	Use host network directly (no NAT)

5. Docker Compose

Docker Compose manages multi-container applications defined in docker-compose.yml.

Command	What it does
docker compose up -d	Start all services in background
docker compose up --build	Rebuild images before starting
docker compose down	Stop and remove containers and networks
docker compose down -v	Also remove volumes
docker compose ps	List service containers
docker compose logs -f <service>	Follow logs for a specific service
docker compose exec <service> bash	Open shell in a running service
docker compose restart <service>	Restart a specific service
docker compose pull	Pull latest images for all services
docker compose run <service> <cmd>	Run a one-off command in a service
docker compose config	Validate and view merged compose config

6. Logs & Monitoring

Command	What it does
docker logs -f <container>	Follow log output in real time
docker logs --tail 100 <container>	Show last 100 log lines
docker logs --since 1h <container>	Show logs from last hour
docker stats <container>	Resource usage for specific container
docker events	Stream real-time Docker daemon events

7. Building Images

Command	What it does
docker build -t myapp:1.0 .	Build and tag from current directory
docker build -f Dockerfile.prod .	Build using a specific Dockerfile
docker build --no-cache .	Build without cache (fresh build)
docker build --build-arg KEY=val .	Pass build-time variable
docker build --target <stage> .	Build up to a specific multi-stage target

Multi-stage builds reduce final image size by separating build dependencies from runtime. Use --target to build only specific stages during development.

8. Registry & Pushing

Command	What it does
docker login	Log in to Docker Hub
docker login <registry-url>	Log in to a private registry
docker tag myapp:1.0 myuser/myapp:1.0	Tag image for Docker Hub
docker push myuser/myapp:1.0	Push image to Docker Hub
docker search nginx	Search Docker Hub for images

9. System Cleanup

Command	What it does
docker system df	Show disk usage by Docker
docker system prune	Remove stopped containers, dangling images, unused networks
docker system prune -a	Also remove all unused images
docker system prune -a --volumes	Full cleanup including volumes
docker container prune	Remove all stopped containers
docker image prune -a	Remove all unused images
docker builder prune	Clear build cache

Warning: docker system prune -a --volumes removes everything unused including named volumes. Back up data before running in production.

10. Power Tips & One-liners

Command	What it does
docker stop $(docker ps -q)	Stop all running containers
docker rm $(docker ps -aq)	Remove all stopped containers
docker rmi $(docker images -q)	Remove all local images
docker run --rm -it alpine sh	Quick throwaway Alpine shell
docker inspect -f "{{.NetworkSettings.IPAddress}}" <c>	Get container IP address
docker run --memory 512m --cpus 1.5 <image>	Limit container resources
docker diff <container>	Show changed files vs the original image
docker commit <container> my-snapshot	Save container state as a new image

Also explore: Docker CLI shortcuts and DevOps tools

View Docker Shortcuts Reference

How to read the sections

The commands are grouped by what they act on — containers, images, volumes, networks, Compose — which matches how Docker's own CLI is organised (docker container, docker image). The short forms most people type (docker ps, docker rm) are aliases of those, and both forms appear where the difference matters. Placeholders in brackets are values to replace; everything else is literal.

Three habits the sheet cannot teach

First, name containers and networks; --name on run turns every later command from an ID lookup into a word. Second, keep state in named volumes, not in the container, so docker rm is never a data-loss event. Third, read docker system df before pruning, because the cleanup commands delete exactly what they say and Docker Desktop's disk image does not shrink on its own. The Docker reference page on this site explains the flags behind each of these.

Compose versus plain docker

Anything with more than one container belongs in a compose.yaml, and the Compose section of the sheet replaces most of the run-and-network commands above it: docker compose up -d creates the network, volumes and containers from the file, and down removes them together. The plain commands remain the tools for inspecting what Compose created.