Top 5 Docker Commands for Everyday Development

Docker makes it easier to run applications in consistent environments without installing every dependency directly on your computer. Once you have Docker installed and running, a handful of commands can cover much of your everyday work with containers.

Here are five useful commands to start with. These examples use a small Nginx web server named docker-demo, so you can follow them in order. This is a practical starting list rather than a ranking based on usage statistics.

1. docker run - Create and Start a Container

Use docker run to create a new container from an image and start it.

docker run -d --name docker-demo -p 127.0.0.1:8080:80 nginx:stable-alpine

In this example:

• -d runs the container in the background.
• --name docker-demo gives it a name you can use in later commands.
• -p 127.0.0.1:8080:80 connects port 8080 on your computer’s loopback address to port 80 inside the container.
• nginx:stable-alpine is the image used to run the web server. Docker downloads it if it is not already available locally.

Open http://localhost:8080 in your browser to see the Nginx welcome page. Port 8080 needs to be available, and the container name must not already be in use.

Remember: docker run creates a new container each time. To restart an existing stopped container, use docker start docker-demo instead.

Read more in the Docker run documentation.

2. docker ps - See Your Containers

Use docker ps to list running containers.

docker ps

The output shows container IDs, images, status, port mappings, and names. It is a quick way to check whether your application is running and which port it uses.

To include stopped containers, add -a:

docker ps -a

If a container starts and immediately exits, this second command helps you find it before checking its logs.

Read more in the Docker container listing documentation.

3. docker logs - Read Application Output

Use docker logs to inspect the output captured from a container’s standard output and standard error streams.

docker logs docker-demo

For recent output and live updates, combine --tail with -f:

docker logs --tail 50 -f docker-demo

This displays the last 50 lines and follows new output. Refresh the Nginx page in your browser to generate access logs.

Press Ctrl+C to stop following the logs. This leaves the container running. Logs written only to files inside a container may need to be inspected separately.

Read more in the Docker logs documentation.

4. docker exec - Run a Command Inside a Container

Use docker exec to run an additional command inside a running container. This is useful for inspecting files or troubleshooting an application.

docker exec -it docker-demo sh

The -it flags provide an interactive terminal, and sh opens a shell available in this example image. Some images include Bash, while minimal images may not include any shell.

Once inside, inspect the web server’s files:

ls /usr/share/nginx/html

Type exit to leave the shell. The web server keeps running.

You can also run a command directly without opening an interactive shell:

docker exec docker-demo nginx -v

Read more in the Docker exec documentation.

5. docker stop - Stop a Container

Use docker stop when you are finished working with a running container.

docker stop docker-demo

Docker sends the container’s main process its configured stop signal and allows time for it to exit before forcing it to stop if necessary.

Stopping a container does not remove it. You can see it with docker ps -a and start it again later:

docker start docker-demo

If you are finished with this example, stop the container and remove it:

docker stop docker-demo
docker rm docker-demo

Removing the container also removes its writable container layer. Keep application data that needs to survive container removal in a volume or bind mount.

Read more in the Docker stop documentation.

Quick Reference

These commands give you a useful routine: start a container, check its status, inspect its logs, troubleshoot inside it, and stop it when you are done.