docker run

Create and start a container from an image, with ports, settings and volumes, explained flag by flag.

>_ Try it: a simulated Linux, right herenothing runs on your computer

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Examples

docker run -d --name web nginx a web server in the background
docker run -d -p 8080:80 --name site nginx reachable on port 8080 of your machine
curl localhost:8080 see it answer
docker run --rm alpine echo "hello from a container" a one-off command, cleaned up afterwards
docker run -d --name db -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=secret -v db-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data postgres a database with a setting and a volume for its data

How it works

docker run creates a new container from an image and starts it. If the image isn't on your machine yet, Docker downloads it first.

The options set the container up for good: its name, which ports reach it, its settings and where its data lives. To change them later you recreate the container.

Syntax

docker run [OPTIONS] IMAGE [COMMAND]

Options

Option	What it does
`-d`	run in the background (detached)
`--name`	give it a name (else Docker picks one)
`-p`	publish a port: HOST:CONTAINER
`-e`	set an environment variable
`-v`	mount a volume: VOLUME:PATH
`--rm`	delete the container when it stops
`-it`	interactive, with a terminal

Good to know

Read -p 8080:80 as "my 8080 goes to the container's 80".
A name can only be used once: docker rm the old container before reusing it.