Docker Operations

Provides Docker container and image operations for creating, running, managing, and inspecting containers and images. Use for docker run, docker exec, docker ps, docker build, docker pull/push, docker images, docker start/stop/restart, docker logs, docker inspect, docker cp, docker commit, docker tag, docker save/load, docker buildx, docker compose, and any container or image management tasks.

This skill provides comprehensive Docker operations using the docker CLI. Ensure Docker is installed and configured on your system:

docker --version

When to Use

• Creating, running, stopping, and managing containers
• Building and pulling/pushing Docker images
• Inspecting containers, images, and Docker objects
• Copying files between containers and host
• Managing Docker registries and image tags
• Viewing logs and real-time container stats
• Cleaning up unused Docker resources

When NOT to Use

• Docker Swarm orchestration (use dedicated swarm tooling)
• Kubernetes container management
• Building Docker images with complex buildx bake files (see references/buildx.md)
• Docker Compose multi-container applications (see references/compose.md)

Command Reference

Container Lifecycle

Create, start, stop, pause, and remove containers.

Command	Description	Reference
docker create	Create container without starting	references/container-lifecycle.md
docker start	Start a container	references/container-lifecycle.md
docker run	Create and start a container	references/container-lifecycle.md
docker stop	Stop a running container	references/container-lifecycle.md
docker restart	Restart a container	references/container-lifecycle.md
docker pause	Pause container processes	references/container-lifecycle.md
docker unpause	Resume paused processes	references/container-lifecycle.md
docker rm	Remove a container	references/container-lifecycle.md

Container Interaction

Execute commands, view logs, copy files, and monitor containers.

Command	Description	Reference
docker exec	Execute command in container	references/container-interaction.md
docker attach	Attach to running container	references/container-interaction.md
docker logs	View container logs	references/container-interaction.md
docker top	Show running processes	references/container-interaction.md
docker stats	Display resource usage	references/container-interaction.md
docker cp	Copy files between host and container	references/container-interaction.md
docker diff	Show filesystem changes	references/container-interaction.md

Container Listing

List and filter Docker containers.

Command	Description	Reference
docker ps	List running containers	references/container-listing.md
docker ps -a	List all containers	references/container-listing.md

Image Operations

Pull, push, build, tag, save, load, and manage images.

Command	Description	Reference
docker images	List local images	references/image-operations.md
docker pull	Pull image from registry	references/image-operations.md
docker push	Push image to registry	references/image-operations.md
docker build	Build image from Dockerfile	references/image-operations.md
docker tag	Tag an image	references/image-operations.md
docker save	Save image to tar	references/image-operations.md
docker load	Load image from tar	references/image-operations.md
docker export	Export container filesystem	references/image-operations.md
docker import	Import tarball to image	references/image-operations.md
docker history	Show image history	references/image-operations.md
docker rmi	Remove an image	references/image-operations.md

Image Inspection

Inspect Docker objects (containers, images, volumes, networks).

Command	Description	Reference
docker inspect	Return low-level info on containers, images, volumes, networks	references/image-inspection.md

Registry Operations

Login, logout, and search Docker registries.

Command	Description	Reference
docker login	Login to registry	references/registry.md
docker logout	Logout from registry	references/registry.md
docker search	Search Docker Hub	references/registry.md

System Information

Get Docker version, system info, and real-time events.

Command	Description	Reference
docker version	Show Docker version	references/system-info.md
docker info	Display system info	references/system-info.md
docker events	Get real-time events	references/system-info.md

Cleanup Commands

Remove unused Docker resources.

Command	Description	Reference
docker container prune	Remove stopped containers	references/cleanup.md
docker image prune	Remove unused images	references/cleanup.md
docker volume prune	Remove unused volumes	references/cleanup.md
docker network prune	Remove unused networks	references/cleanup.md
docker system prune	Full system cleanup	references/cleanup.md

Advanced Topics

For complex multi-platform builds and bake files, see references/buildx.md.

For Docker Compose operations and multi-container orchestration, see references/compose.md.

Advanced Image Operations

Extract image contents, analyze layers, and manipulate image filesystems.

Operation	Description	Reference
Extract image to directory	Export image filesystem to local directory	references/advanced-image-operations.md
Layer analysis	Inspect and extract specific image layers	references/advanced-image-operations.md
Image filesystem comparison	Compare image contents between versions	references/advanced-image-operations.md