CompTIA Linux+ XK0-005 - 3.2 - Container Management: Listing

Listing containers is an essential task in Docker container management. It allows you to view the containers running on your system, along with their essential details such as container names, IDs, status, and more. This guide will provide an overview of listing containers and demonstrate different techniques to list containers using the docker ps and docker container ls commands.

Listing Containers

There are multiple commands available to list containers in Docker. Let's explore some commonly used options and examples:

List Running Containers

To list the running containers on your system, you can use the docker ps or docker container ls commands:

docker ps
# OR
docker container ls

Example output:

CONTAINER ID   IMAGE        COMMAND       CREATED      STATUS      PORTS     NAMES
abc123456789   nginx:latest "nginx -g ..."  2 hours ago  Up 2 hours  80/tcp    my-nginx
def987654321   mysql:latest "mysqld"     3 days ago    Up 3 days   3306/tcp  my-mysql

List All Containers

To list all containers, including running and stopped ones, you can use the -a or --all option with the docker ps or docker container ls commands:

docker ps -a
# OR
docker container ls -a

Example output:

CONTAINER ID   IMAGE        COMMAND       CREATED       STATUS                 PORTS     NAMES
abc123456789   nginx:latest "nginx -g ..."  2 hours ago   Up 2 hours             80/tcp    my-nginx
def987654321   mysql:latest "mysqld"     3 days ago     Exited (137) 3 days ago 3306/tcp  my-mysql
xyz789012345   redis:latest "redis-serve" 1 week ago     Exited (0) 1 week ago   6379/tcp  my-redis

Filter Containers by Name

You can filter the listed containers by name using the --filter option. For example, to list containers with a specific name, use the following command:

docker ps --filter "name=my-container"
# OR
docker container ls --filter "name=my-container"

Example output:

CONTAINER ID   IMAGE        COMMAND       CREATED       STATUS       PORTS     NAMES
abc123456789   nginx:latest "nginx -g ..."  2 hours ago   Up 2 hours   80/tcp    my-container

Conclusion

Listing containers in Docker is an essential operation for managing and monitoring your containers. By using commands like docker ps and docker container ls with various options, you can effectively view and filter containers based on your requirements.

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