How to start a Docker container?

Starting a Docker Container

To start a Docker container, you need to follow these steps:

1. Ensure Docker is Installed: First, make sure that Docker is installed on your system. You can check this by running the docker version command in your terminal. If Docker is installed, you should see the version information displayed.

2. Pull the Docker Image: Before you can start a container, you need to have a Docker image. If you don't have the image you want to use, you can pull it from a Docker registry (such as Docker Hub) using the docker pull command. For example, to pull the latest Ubuntu image, you would run:

   docker pull ubuntu

3. Start a Docker Container: Once you have the image, you can start a new container using the docker run command. The basic syntax is:

   docker run [options] image [command] [args]

   Here's an example of starting an Ubuntu container and running a simple command inside it:

   docker run -it ubuntu /bin/bash

   This command will:

   • -i: Keep STDIN open, even if not attached
   • -t: Allocate a pseudo-TTY
   • ubuntu: The image to use for the container
   • /bin/bash: The command to run inside the container (in this case, the Bash shell)

   After running this command, you will be inside the Ubuntu container, and you can execute commands as you would on a regular Linux system.

4. Manage the Container: Once the container is running, you can manage it using various Docker commands:

   • docker ps: List all running containers
   • docker stop [container_id]: Stop a running container
   • docker start [container_id]: Start a stopped container
   • docker rm [container_id]: Remove a container

Here's a Mermaid diagram that illustrates the process of starting a Docker container:

Starting a Docker container is a fundamental step in using Docker. By following these steps, you can quickly and easily create and manage containers for your development, testing, or production environments.