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Docker Cheat Sheet for Developers: Practical Commands You Actually Use

A practical Docker cheat sheet covering daily workflows: images, containers, logs, exec, volumes, networks, and docker compose.

5 Oktober 2026·9 menit baca

Why this cheat sheet?

Docker has a lot of commands, but in day-to-day engineering you usually use a small set repeatedly. This guide focuses on the commands that help during local development, debugging, and deployment prep.

1) Images

Build image

BASH
docker build -t my-app:latest .

Use -t to tag the image. Prefer explicit tags (my-app:1.2.0) for release workflows.

List images

BASH
docker images

Remove image

BASH
docker rmi my-app:latest

2) Containers

Run container in background

BASH
docker run -d --name my-app -p 3000:3000 my-app:latest

List running containers

BASH
docker ps

List all containers

BASH
docker ps -a

Stop and remove container

BASH
docker stop my-app
docker rm my-app

3) Logs and Debugging

Stream logs

BASH
docker logs -f my-app

Open shell inside container

BASH
docker exec -it my-app sh

If image has bash:

BASH
docker exec -it my-app bash

Inspect container details

BASH
docker inspect my-app

4) Volumes

Create volume

BASH
docker volume create app-data

Mount volume when running

BASH
docker run -d --name my-db -v app-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data postgres:16

List and clean unused volumes

BASH
docker volume ls
docker volume prune

5) Networks

Create network

BASH
docker network create app-net

Run containers in the same network

BASH
docker run -d --name api --network app-net my-api:latest
docker run -d --name worker --network app-net my-worker:latest

6) Docker Compose essentials

Start services

BASH
docker compose up -d

Rebuild and restart

BASH
docker compose up -d --build

Stop services

BASH
docker compose down

View logs for one service

BASH
docker compose logs -f api

7) Cleanup shortcuts

Remove stopped containers, dangling images, and unused networks

BASH
docker system prune

Aggressive cleanup (be careful)

BASH
docker system prune -a --volumes

Use the aggressive variant only when you understand what can be deleted.

Common workflow (quick loop)

  1. Build image
  2. Run container
  3. Check logs
  4. Exec into container when needed
  5. Rebuild/restart after code changes

This simple loop is enough for most backend and fullstack local development tasks.

Conclusion

Keep this cheat sheet close, but avoid memorizing everything at once. Start with run/ps/logs/exec/compose, then add volumes and network commands as your architecture grows.