How to List / Start / Stop Docker Containers

Docker is a popular virtualization tool that replicates a specific operating environment on top of a host OS. Each environment is called a container. Managing containers is essential for working in Docker.

A container uses an image of a preconfigured operating system optimized for a specific task. When a Docker image is launched, it exists in a container. For example, multiple containers may run the same image at the same time on a single host operating system.

This guide shows you how to list, stop, and start Docker containers.

The basic format for using docker is:

docker command [options]

To list all running Docker containers, enter the following into a terminal window:

docker ps

As you can see, the image above indicates there are no running containers.

To list all containers, both running and stopped, add –a :

docker ps –a

To list containers by their ID use –aq (quiet):

docker ps –aq

To list the total file size of each container, use –s (size):

docker ps –s

To list the latest created containers, use –l (latest):

docker ps –l

The ps command provides several columns of information:

The main command to launch or start a single or multiple stopped Docker containers is docker start:

docker start [options] container_id 

You can specify the container by either using its name or ID (long or short).

To create a new container from an image and start it, use docker run:

docker run [options] image [command] [argument] 

If you do not define a name for your newly created container, the deamon will generate a random string name. To define container name, use the ––name option:

docker run ––name=Ubuntu_Test ubuntu:14.04

The above mentioned command will create the Ubuntu_test container based on the ubuntu:14.04 image and start it.

A container may be running, but you may not be able to interact with it. To start the container in interactive mode, use the –i and –t options:

docker run –it ––name=Ubuntu_Test ubuntu:14.04

In the above mentioned example, the system creates the Test_2 container from the ubuntu image, and connects to it enabling you to run commands directly on the container.

Instead of using -i or -t options, use the attach command to connect to a running container:

docker attach container_id

Use the docker stop command to stop a container:

docker stop [option] container_id

Replace container_id with the container’s name or ID.

By default, you get a 10 second grace period. The stop command instructs the container to stop services after that period. Use the --time option to define a different grace period expressed in seconds:

docker stop --time=20 container_id

To immediately kill a docker container without waiting for the grace period to end use:

docker kill [option] container_id

To stop all running containers, enter the following:

docker stop $(docker ps –a –q)

The same command could be used with kill. This would stop all containers without giving them a chance to exit.

This tutorial provided options to list, start, and stop, Docker containers.

Docker is used by development teams to ensure consistency across different machines.