| name | docker-management |
| description | Manage Docker containers, images, volumes, and networks via the Docker CLI and Dockerode API |
| category | developer |
| version | 1.0.0 |
| origin | aiden |
| license | Apache-2.0 |
| tags | docker, containers, images, volumes, networks, compose, dockerode, devops, deployment |
Docker Container Management
Manage Docker containers, images, volumes, and networks using the Docker CLI or Dockerode (Node.js Docker API client already in DevOS).
When to Use
- User wants to list running or stopped containers
- User wants to start, stop, or restart a container
- User wants to pull, build, or remove Docker images
- User wants to view container logs
- User wants to inspect container resource usage
How to Use
1. List containers
# Running containers
docker ps
# All containers including stopped
docker ps -a --format "table {{.Names}}\t{{.Status}}\t{{.Image}}\t{{.Ports}}"
2. Start, stop, and restart containers
docker start my-container
docker stop my-container
docker restart my-container
# Stop all running containers
docker stop $(docker ps -q)
3. View container logs
# Last 100 lines
docker logs my-container --tail 100
# Follow live output
docker logs my-container --follow --tail 50
4. Manage images
# List images
docker images
# Pull latest image
docker pull nginx:latest
# Remove image
docker rmi nginx:latest
# Build from Dockerfile in current directory
docker build -t my-app:v1 .
5. Container resource usage
# Live resource stats (CPU, memory, network)
docker stats --no-stream
# Inspect a specific container
docker inspect my-container | python -m json.tool
6. Manage volumes and networks
# List volumes
docker volume ls
# List networks
docker network ls
# Remove unused volumes (reclaim disk)
docker volume prune -f
# Remove stopped containers, unused images, and networks
docker system prune -f
7. Execute commands inside a container
# Interactive shell
docker exec -it my-container /bin/bash
# Run a single command
docker exec my-container cat /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
8. Docker Compose operations
# Start all services defined in docker-compose.yml
docker compose up -d
# View logs for all services
docker compose logs -f
# Stop and remove containers
docker compose down
# Rebuild and restart a specific service
docker compose up -d --build api
9. Use Dockerode API (Node.js)
const Dockerode = require('dockerode')
const docker = new Dockerode()
const containers = await docker.listContainers({ all: true })
containers.forEach(c => console.log(c.Names[0], c.State, c.Image))
const container = docker.getContainer('my-container')
await container.restart()
console.log('Restarted')
Examples
"Show me all running containers and their ports"
→ Use step 1 with docker ps and the format string.
"The nginx container seems slow — show me its CPU and memory usage"
→ Use step 5 with docker stats --no-stream filtered to the nginx container.
"Rebuild and restart the API service after my code change"
→ Use step 8: docker compose up -d --build api.
Cautions
docker system prune removes ALL stopped containers, unused images, and networks — confirm with the user firstdocker stop $(docker ps -q) stops ALL running containers — confirm which containers to stop- Bind mounts expose host filesystem paths to containers — check paths before mounting
- For production deployments, prefer
docker compose or Kubernetes over direct docker run commands
- Container logs can grow very large — use
--tail to limit output for inspection
