Docker Essentials Cheatsheet

This cheatsheet contains the Docker commands most often used in local development and daily work. Read the Docker Essentials course for more complete explanations and practice.

Image commands

No.	Command format	Example command	Description
1	docker pull <image>:<tag>	docker pull nginx:1.27	Pulls an image to the local machine. This command does not start a container.
2	docker images	docker images	Lists images available on the local machine.
3	docker build -t <image-name>:<tag> <build-context>	docker build -t hello-web:1.0 .	Builds an image from a Dockerfile. The . means the current folder is used as the build context.
4	docker tag <local-image>:<local-tag> <new-image>:<new-tag>	docker tag hello-web:1.0 bagus/hello-web:1.0	Adds another name or tag for the same image. This command does not create a new image copy.
5	docker rmi <image>:<tag>	docker rmi hello-web:1.0	Removes an image from the local machine. It fails if a container still uses the image.

Container commands

No.	Command format	Example command	Description
6	docker run -d --name <container-name> -p <local-port>:<container-port> <image>:<tag>	docker run -d --name web -p 8080:80 nginx:1.27	Creates and runs a container in the background. Laptop port 8080 is mapped to port 80 inside the container.
7	docker ps	docker ps	Lists running containers.
8	docker ps -a	docker ps -a	Lists all containers, including stopped containers.
9	docker logs <container-name>	docker logs web	Shows process output from inside a container.
10	docker logs -f <container-name>	docker logs -f web	Follows new log entries live. Press Ctrl+C to stop following the logs.
11	docker exec -it <container-name> <command>	docker exec -it web sh	Runs a command inside a running container. Type exit to leave the container shell.
12	docker stop <container-name>	docker stop web	Stops a container and keeps it so you can start it again.
13	docker start <container-name>	docker start web	Starts a stopped container with its previous configuration.
14	docker rm <container-name>	docker rm web	Removes a stopped container.
15	docker rm -f <container-name>	docker rm -f web	Stops and removes a running container. It does not automatically remove the image or named volumes.

Registry commands

No.	Command format	Example command	Description
16	docker login -u <dockerhub-username>	docker login -u bagus	Logs in to Docker Hub so Docker Engine can push images. Use a personal access token as the password when the account uses two-factor authentication.
17	docker push <registry>/<repository>:<tag>	docker push bagus/hello-web:1.0	Pushes an image from the local machine to a registry. The image must have the correct repository tag and you must already be logged in.

Volume commands

No.	Command format	Example command	Description
18	docker volume ls	docker volume ls	Lists named volumes managed by Docker.
19	docker run -d --name <container-name> -v <volume-name>:<path-in-container> <image>:<tag>	docker run -d --name db -v pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data postgres:16	Mounts a named volume at a data path inside a container. The named volume remains after the container is removed.
20	docker run -d --name <container-name> -v <local-folder>:<path-in-container> <image>:<tag>	docker run -d --name web -v "$(pwd)/html:/usr/share/nginx/html:ro" nginx:1.27	Mounts a folder from the laptop into a container. The :ro suffix makes the folder read-only inside the container.

Network commands

No.	Command format	Example command	Description
21	docker network create <network-name>	docker network create app-network	Creates a user-defined network so containers can communicate using container names.
22	docker run -d --name <container-name> --network <network-name> <image>:<tag>	docker run -d --name db --network app-network postgres:16	Places a container on a specific network. Other containers on the same network can use db as the hostname.
23	docker network ls	docker network ls	Lists networks available on the local machine.

Environment variable commands

No.	Command format	Example command	Description
24	docker run -d --name <container-name> -e <VARIABLE_NAME>=<value> <image>:<tag>	docker run -d --name db -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=secret -e POSTGRES_DB=app postgres:16	Provides configuration to a container without changing the image. Avoid writing production secrets directly in a command or shell history.

Docker Compose commands

No.	Command format	Example command	Description
25	docker compose up -d	docker compose up -d	Starts all services from compose.yaml in the background.
26	docker compose logs -f	docker compose logs -f	Follows new log entries from all services live.
27	docker compose logs -f <service-name>	docker compose logs -f db	Follows new log entries from a specific service live.
28	docker compose down	docker compose down	Stops and removes Compose containers and network. Named volumes remain.
29	docker compose down -v	docker compose down -v	Stops and removes Compose containers, network, and named volumes. Use this only when you want to reset local data.
30	docker compose up -d --build	docker compose up -d --build	Rebuilds images for services that use build, then starts the services in the background.