Docker Cheat Sheet — Commands, Dockerfile & Compose Free

Complete Docker reference: containers, images, volumes, networks, Dockerfile, and Docker Compose. All commands with examples. Free Docker cheat sheet.

Containers

docker run -d -p 80:80 --name web nginx

Run container in background, map port, set name

docker run -it --rm ubuntu bash

Interactive container, auto-remove on exit

docker run -v /host:/container -e ENV=val image

Mount volume and set environment variable

docker ps

List running containers

docker ps -a

List all containers (including stopped)

docker stop <id|name>

Gracefully stop container (SIGTERM)

docker start <id|name>

Start a stopped container

docker restart <id|name>

Restart container

docker rm <id|name>

Remove stopped container

docker rm -f <id|name>

Force remove running container

docker rm $(docker ps -aq)

Remove all stopped containers

docker exec -it <id> bash

Open interactive shell in running container

docker exec -it <id> sh

Open sh shell (for Alpine images)

docker logs <id> -f --tail 100

Follow last 100 lines of logs

docker inspect <id>

Show detailed container metadata (JSON)

docker stats

Live resource usage for all containers

docker top <id>

Show running processes inside container

docker cp <id>:/path ./local

Copy file from container to host

docker cp ./local <id>:/path

Copy file from host to container

docker port <id>

Show port mappings for container

docker rename old_name new_name

Rename a container

docker pause <id>

Pause all processes in container

docker unpause <id>

Unpause container

docker update --memory 512m <id>

Update container resource limits

Images

docker images

List local images

docker pull nginx:alpine

Download image from registry

docker push user/repo:tag

Push image to Docker Hub

docker build -t myapp:1.0 .

Build image from Dockerfile in current dir

docker build -t myapp --build-arg KEY=val .

Build with build arguments

docker build -f Dockerfile.prod -t myapp:prod .

Build using specific Dockerfile

docker rmi <image>

Remove image

docker rmi $(docker images -q)

Remove all images

docker image prune -a

Remove all unused images

docker tag myapp:latest user/myapp:1.0

Tag an image

docker save -o myapp.tar myapp:1.0

Save image to tar archive

docker load -i myapp.tar

Load image from tar archive

docker commit <id> myapp:saved

Create image from container state

docker history myapp:1.0

Show image build history (layers)

docker search nginx

Search images on Docker Hub

Volumes

docker volume create mydata

Create named volume

docker volume ls

List all volumes

docker volume inspect mydata

Show volume details

docker volume rm mydata

Remove volume

docker volume prune

Remove all unused volumes

docker run -v mydata:/app/data image

Mount named volume into container

docker run -v $(pwd):/app image

Bind mount current directory

docker run --mount type=tmpfs,target=/tmp image

Mount tmpfs (in-memory)

docker run --volumes-from other_container image

Share volumes from another container

Networks

docker network ls

List all networks

docker network create mynet

Create custom bridge network

docker network create --driver overlay mynet

Create overlay network (Swarm)

docker network rm mynet

Remove network

docker network prune

Remove all unused networks

docker run --network mynet --name app image

Connect container to network on start

docker network connect mynet <id>

Connect running container to network

docker network disconnect mynet <id>

Disconnect container from network

docker network inspect mynet

Show network details (containers, IPs)

Dockerfile

FROM node:20-alpine

Base image (always first)

WORKDIR /app

Set working directory for subsequent instructions

COPY package*.json ./

Copy files from build context

ADD archive.tar.gz /app/

Copy and auto-extract archives

RUN npm ci --only=production

Execute command during build

ENV NODE_ENV=production PORT=3000

Set environment variables

ARG BUILD_DATE

Define build-time variable (use with --build-arg)

EXPOSE 3000

Document port (does not publish)

VOLUME ["/data"]

Create mount point

CMD ["node", "server.js"]

Default command (overridable)

ENTRYPOINT ["docker-entrypoint.sh"]

Fixed command (CMD appended as args)

HEALTHCHECK --interval=30s CMD curl -f http://localhost/health

Define health check

USER nonroot

Switch to non-root user

LABEL maintainer="[email protected]"

Add metadata labels

ONBUILD RUN npm install

Trigger instruction for child images

Docker Compose

docker compose up -d

Start all services in background

docker compose up --build

Rebuild images and start

docker compose down

Stop and remove containers and networks

docker compose down -v

Also remove volumes

docker compose ps

List running compose services

docker compose logs -f app

Follow logs for specific service

docker compose exec app bash

Open shell in service container

docker compose run --rm app npm test

Run one-off command in new container

docker compose restart app

Restart specific service

docker compose build app

Build specific service image

docker compose pull

Pull latest images for all services

docker compose config

Validate and view merged compose config

docker compose scale app=3

Scale service to N replicas (v1 syntax)

docker compose -f docker-compose.prod.yml up -d

Use custom compose file

docker compose --env-file .env.prod up -d

Use custom env file

System & Cleanup

docker system df

Show docker disk usage

docker system prune

Remove stopped containers, unused networks, dangling images

docker system prune -a --volumes

Remove everything not in use

docker info

System-wide information

docker version

Show Docker version info

docker events

Stream real-time events from Docker daemon

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do I use Docker Cheat Sheet?

Browse by category (containers, images, volumes, Dockerfile) or search by command. Each entry shows the full syntax and a practical example.

Is Docker Cheat Sheet free?

Yes, Docker Cheat Sheet on ToolPix is 100% free with no signup or installation required.

Is my data safe?

This is a static reference tool. No data is entered or transmitted.

What is the difference between docker stop and docker kill?

docker stop sends SIGTERM, giving the container time to shut down gracefully. docker kill sends SIGKILL immediately — use it when stop hangs.

How do I remove all stopped containers and unused images?

Run docker system prune to remove stopped containers, unused networks, and dangling images. Add -a to also remove unused images that are not tagged.

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