Docker Commands Cheat Sheet for Linux Servers

The Docker commands you need most on a server are docker run -d to start a container, docker ps -a to list containers, docker logs -f <name> to read output, docker exec -it <name> sh to open a shell, docker stop and docker rm to stop and remove, and docker system df to see disk use. Each table below gives the command, what it does and an example.

Difficulty	Time	Works on	Needs
Beginner	Reference	Any Linux server with Docker Engine	Docker installed

Before you start

Run the commands as a user in the docker group, or put sudo in front.
You can use a container’s name (for example web) or the first few characters of its ID wherever a command needs <name>.
An image is the read-only template. A container is a running (or stopped) copy of an image. A volume is storage that survives when you replace the container.

How to run a container

docker run -d --name web --restart unless-stopped -p 8080:80 -v web-data:/usr/share/nginx/html nginx:latest

Flag	Meaning
`-d`	Run in the background (detached)
`--name web`	Give the container a fixed name
`--restart unless-stopped`	Start again after a crash or reboot, unless you stopped it. The default is `no`.
`-p 8080:80`	Publish container port 80 on server port 8080
`-p 127.0.0.1:8080:80`	Publish on localhost only, for use behind a reverse proxy
`-v web-data:/path`	Mount the named volume `web-data` at `/path` in the container
`-v /srv/web:/path`	Mount a folder from the server (bind mount)
`-e TZ=Europe/London`	Set an environment variable
`--env-file .env`	Load environment variables from a file
`--memory 512m --cpus 1`	Limit memory and CPU
`--rm`	Delete the container when it exits (for one-off tasks)

Ports published with -p bypass ufw and firewalld. Anything you publish on 0.0.0.0 is reachable from the internet. Use 127.0.0.1: for admin tools and databases.

Container commands

Task	Command
List running containers	`docker ps`
List all containers, including stopped	`docker ps -a`
Stop a container	`docker stop web`
Start a stopped container	`docker start web`
Restart a container	`docker restart web`
Remove a stopped container	`docker rm web`
Stop and remove in one step	`docker rm -f web`
Live CPU, memory and network use	`docker stats` (one snapshot: `docker stats --no-stream`)
Full details as JSON	`docker inspect web`
One field, for example the status	`docker inspect -f '{{.State.Status}}' web`
Change the restart policy	`docker update --restart unless-stopped web`

Example output of docker ps:

CONTAINER ID   IMAGE          COMMAND                  CREATED         STATUS         PORTS                    NAMES
730560ce8d25   nginx:latest   "/docker-entrypoint.…"   2 minutes ago   Up 2 minutes   127.0.0.1:8080->80/tcp   web

How to read container logs

Task	Command
Show all logs	`docker logs web`
Follow new lines (Ctrl+C to stop)	`docker logs -f web`
Last 100 lines	`docker logs --tail 100 web`
Logs from the last hour	`docker logs --since 1h web`

How to open a shell inside a container

docker exec -it web sh

Use bash instead of sh if the image has it. Type exit to leave; the container keeps running. To run a single command without a shell:

docker exec web cat /etc/os-release

Image commands

Task	Command
List images	`docker images`
Download or update an image	`docker pull nginx:latest`
Remove an image	`docker rmi nginx:latest`
Remove dangling (untagged) images	`docker image prune`
Remove all images no container uses	`docker image prune -a`
Build an image from a Dockerfile	`docker build -t myapp:1.0 .`

How to update a container to a new image

A container never changes its image. To update, pull the new image and create a new container with the same options:

docker pull nginx:latest
docker stop web
docker rm web
docker run -d --name web --restart unless-stopped -p 8080:80 -v web-data:/usr/share/nginx/html nginx:latest

Data in volumes stays. Data written inside the container (not in a volume) is lost. Docker Compose makes this a two-command job.

Volume and network commands

Task	Command
List volumes	`docker volume ls`
Create a volume	`docker volume create web-data`
Show where a volume is stored	`docker volume inspect web-data`
Remove a volume	`docker volume rm web-data`
List networks	`docker network ls`
Create a network	`docker network create appnet`
Connect a container to a network	`docker network connect appnet web`

Containers on the same user-defined network reach each other by container name.

Disk space and clean-up

Task	Command
Summary of disk use	`docker system df`
Per image, container and volume	`docker system df -v`
Remove stopped containers	`docker container prune`
Remove stopped containers, unused networks, dangling images and build cache	`docker system prune`

Example output of docker system df:

TYPE            TOTAL     ACTIVE    SIZE      RECLAIMABLE
Images          4         2         1.2GB     640MB (53%)
Containers      2         2         12kB      0B (0%)
Local Volumes   3         2         350MB     40MB (11%)
Build Cache     0         0         0B        0B

docker volume prune -a and docker rm -v delete volume data, including databases. See clean up Docker disk space for what each prune command removes.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between docker stop and docker kill?

docker stop asks the main process to shut down and waits, by default 10 seconds, before forcing it. docker kill ends it at once, which can corrupt data that is being written.

Why does my container exit straight away?

The main process ended or crashed. Run docker ps -a to see the exit code and docker logs <name> to see the error.

How do I copy a file into or out of a container?

Use docker cp, for example docker cp web:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf ./nginx.conf or docker cp ./index.html web:/usr/share/nginx/html/.

How do I see which ports a container publishes?

Run docker port web. It prints lines such as 80/tcp -> 127.0.0.1:8080.

VPS and dedicated server guides

Every guide in this section.

Install Docker

Docker Engine from the official repository.

Docker Compose tutorial

Define containers in one file.

Clean up Docker disk space

What each prune command deletes.

Install Portainer

The same tasks in a web UI.

Checked against the official Docker CLI reference on 4 November 2026; commands tested on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS with Docker Engine 29.9.2. Output can differ slightly between Docker versions.

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Last Updated: November 2026

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Docker Commands Cheat Sheet for Linux Servers

Before you start

How to run a container

Container commands

How to read container logs

How to open a shell inside a container

Image commands

How to update a container to a new image

Volume and network commands

Disk space and clean-up

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between docker stop and docker kill?

Why does my container exit straight away?

How do I copy a file into or out of a container?

How do I see which ports a container publishes?

VPS and dedicated server guides

Install Docker

Docker Compose tutorial

Clean up Docker disk space

Install Portainer

Need Extra Help?

Save on Your Hosting

​Before you start

​How to run a container

​Container commands

​How to read container logs

​How to open a shell inside a container

​Image commands

​How to update a container to a new image

​Volume and network commands

​Disk space and clean-up

​Frequently asked questions

​What is the difference between docker stop and docker kill?

​Why does my container exit straight away?

​How do I copy a file into or out of a container?

​How do I see which ports a container publishes?

​Related guides

VPS and dedicated server guides

Install Docker

Docker Compose tutorial

Clean up Docker disk space

Install Portainer

​Need Extra Help?

​Save on Your Hosting

Before you start

How to run a container

Container commands

How to read container logs

How to open a shell inside a container

Image commands

How to update a container to a new image

Volume and network commands

Disk space and clean-up

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between docker stop and docker kill?

Why does my container exit straight away?

How do I copy a file into or out of a container?

How do I see which ports a container publishes?

Related guides

Need Extra Help?

Save on Your Hosting