Docker Essentials

A solid reference for Docker commands you'll actually use day to day. Covers the full lifecycle from running containers with port mappings and volume mounts to debugging with logs and exec, plus image building, Docker Compose operations, and cleanup commands. The workflows section is especially handy, showing real examples like spinning up a dev container with live reload or a Postgres instance with persistent storage. It's organized by task rather than alphabetically, so you can quickly find "how do I get a shell in this container" or "how do I clean up disk space" without scrolling through everything. Assumes you already know why you need Docker and just want the commands without the tutorial.

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skills.sh installs: 166
GitHub stars: 674
last updated: Aug 21, 2026

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Install

$ npx -y skills add sundial-org/awesome-openclaw-skills --skill docker-essentials --agent claude-code

Installs into .claude/skills of the current project.

Files

Docker Essentials

Essential Docker commands for container and image management.

Container Lifecycle

Running containers

# Run container from image
docker run nginx

# Run in background (detached)
docker run -d nginx

# Run with name
docker run --name my-nginx -d nginx

# Run with port mapping
docker run -p 8080:80 -d nginx

# Run with environment variables
docker run -e MY_VAR=value -d app

# Run with volume mount
docker run -v /host/path:/container/path -d app

# Run with auto-remove on exit
docker run --rm alpine echo "Hello"

# Interactive terminal
docker run -it ubuntu bash

Managing containers

# List running containers
docker ps

# List all containers (including stopped)
docker ps -a

# Stop container
docker stop container_name

# Start stopped container
docker start container_name

# Restart container
docker restart container_name

# Remove container
docker rm container_name

# Force remove running container
docker rm -f container_name

# Remove all stopped containers
docker container prune