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Docker Commands Cheat Sheet 2026 — Complete Reference for DevOps
Published: March 20, 2026 · Updated: May 1, 2026 · 12 min read
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 |