Docker Commands Cheat Sheet — From Beginner to Daily Driver
telegra.ph
The Docker commands I actually use every day, organized by how often I reach for them. Every Day # See running containers docker ps # See ALL containers (including stopped) docker ps -a # Start/stop/restart docker start docker stop docker restart # View logs (follow mode) docker logs -f docker logs --tail 100 # Run a command in a running container docker exec -it bash docker exec -it sh # if bash isn't installed Building & Running # Build an image docker…

After years of Docker, 90% of my usage is maybe 15 commands. Organized them by how often I reach for them:

  • Every day: ps, logs -f, exec -it, restart
  • Building: build -t, run with -p/-v/-e, --restart unless-stopped
  • Compose: up -d --build, logs -f, down
  • Cleanup: system df, container/image/volume prune
  • Debug: inspect, stats, cp

Plus some Docker Compose tips that took me too long to discover (profiles, healthchecks with depends_on conditions, .env auto-loading).