Your essential reference for interacting with Docker images, containers, volumes, networks and more. Whether you’re just starting or need a quick command reminder, this guide has you covered.
Registry Login & Logout
To push or pull images from a private registry, you need to authenticate first. Docker uses credential helpers to store login info securely.
Log in to Docker Hub (or any registry)
Prompts for username and password. You must be logged in to push images.
docker login
Log in to a custom / private registry
Include the registry URL to log in to a private registry.
docker login myregistry.example.com
If your registry uses a different port:
docker login myregistry.example.com:5000
Once logged in, you can push/pull using full image references:
docker push myregistry.example.com/myuser/myimage:latest
docker pull myregistry.example.com/myuser/myimage:latest
Important: Make sure the image is tagged correctly before pushing:
docker tag local-image myregistry.example.com/myuser/myimage:latest
Log out
Removes stored credentials for the registry.
docker logout
# Or logout from a specific registry
docker logout myregistry.example.com
Docker images
Commands for building, managing, tagging, pushing and cleaning up Docker images.
Build an image from a Dockerfile
Builds a Docker image from your local context.
docker build -t image-name .
Remember: the . at the end of the docker build command defines the build context, not just the location of your Dockerfile. Docker will send everything in that folder to the build engine unless excluded. To avoid sending unnecessary files, large folders or sensitive data (like .env, node_modules, or credentials), make sure to define a proper .dockerignore file. It helps keep your builds clean, fast and secure.
List local images
Displays all images available locally on your machine.
docker images
Remove an image
Deletes an image from your system.
docker rmi image-name
# Or by ID
docker rmi IMAGE_ID
Remove dangling (untagged) images
Cleans up intermediate and untagged images to save space.
docker image prune
Tag an image
Gives an existing image a new name and optionally a new tag.
docker tag my-image:latest myrepo/my-image:v1
Tag for a remote registry
To push to a remote registry, include the full registry path in the tag.
docker tag my-image myregistry.com/myuser/my-image:latest
Retag an existing image
You can create a new tag from an existing local image.
docker tag old-image-name new-image-name:new-tag
See tags of a local image
Docker doesn’t have a native command to list all tags of an image locally. You’ll only see the tags that you created explicitly:
docker images
To list all available tags for a remote image (like on Docker Hub) use the web interface or a tool like skopeo.
Pull image from Docker Hub
Downloads an image from Docker Hub.
docker pull nginx
Push image to Docker Hub
Uploads your image to a remote repository (you must be logged in).
docker push myrepo/my-image:v1
Docker Containers
Commands to run, manage, pause, stop and remove containers.
Create and run a container
Starts a new container in detached mode (-d) with a given name.
docker run -d --name my-container my-image
Run a container with a shell (interactive)
Runs a container interactively and gives you a shell inside.
docker run -it my-image
Assign a name to a new container
Gives a human-readable name to your container for easier reference.
docker run --name my-nginx nginx
Rename an existing container
Changes the name of an existing container.
docker rename old-name new-name
Stop a running container
Gracefully stops the container.
docker stop my-container
Start a stopped container
Restarts a previously stopped container.
docker start my-container
Pause and unpause a container
Freezes or resumes all processes within a container (useful for maintenance).
docker pause my-container
docker unpause my-container
Remove a container
Deletes a container. Make sure it’s stopped first.
docker rm my-container
Remove all stopped containers
Cleans up exited containers to keep your environment tidy.
docker container prune
Access a running container
Opens an interactive shell inside the container.
docker exec -it my-container bash
Inspect and Logs
Tools to debug, inspect and monitor your containers and images.
View logs from a container
Shows the output (stdout/stderr) of your container.
docker logs my-container
Follow logs live (like tail -f)
Useful to monitor a container’s output in real-time.
docker logs -f my-container
Inspect details of a container/image
Returns detailed JSON about a container or image configuration.
docker inspect my-container
docker inspect my-image
Check containers resource usage (live stats)
Shows live CPU, memory and I/O usage of running containers.
docker stats
Volumes
Volumes help you persist and share data between containers or between a container and the host.
Create a volume
Creates a named volume for data persistence.
docker volume create my-volume
List volumes
Displays all volumes available on the system.
docker volume ls
Mount a volume to a new container
Attaches the volume to a specific path in the container.
docker run -v my-volume:/data ubuntu
Inspect a volume
Shows details of a volume like mount point and usage.
docker volume inspect my-volume
Remove a volume
Deletes a volume (must not be in use).
docker volume rm my-volume
Remove unused volumes
Cleans up volumes not used by any containers.
docker volume prune
Networking
Create isolated networks for your containers to communicate securely.
List networks
Shows all available Docker networks.
docker network ls
Create a new network
Creates a custom network for container communication.
docker network create my-network
Run a container in a specific network
Starts a container attached to a custom network.
docker run --network=my-network nginx
Connect a container to an existing network
Links a running container to a different network.
docker network connect my-network my-container
Disconnect a container from a network
Unlinks the container from a specific network.
docker network disconnect my-network my-container
Inspect a network
Shows the containers connected and network settings.
docker network inspect my-network
Docker Compose (Basics)
Use docker-compose to manage multi-container applications declaratively.
Start services
Starts all services defined in docker-compose.yml. Use -d to run in detached mode.
docker-compose up
# Or in detached mode:
docker-compose up -d
Stop services
Stops and removes containers, networks and volumes defined by the Compose file.
docker-compose down
Rebuild services
Rebuilds the images and restarts containers. Useful after code changes.
docker-compose up --build
View logs from compose services
Shows logs for all services. Use -f to follow logs in real-time.
docker-compose logs
# Or to follow logs:
docker-compose logs -f
Execute a command in a running service
Runs an interactive command like bash inside a service container.
docker-compose exec service-name bash
Cleanup
Clean your Docker environment by removing unused or unnecessary resources.
Remove all stopped containers, unused networks, dangling images and build cache
Frees up disk space safely.
docker system prune
Remove everything (containers, networks, volumes, images) – Use with caution !
Dangerous but powerful cleanup. Only run if you know what you’re doing.
docker system prune -a --volumes
Need a cheat sheet?
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