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title = "Get started with containers"
description = "Common usage and commands"
keywords = ["Examples, Usage, basic commands, docker, documentation,  examples"]
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# Get started with containers

This guide assumes you have a working installation of Docker. To verify Docker is 
installed, use the following command:

    # Check that you have a working install
    $ docker info

If you get `docker: command not found` or something like
`/var/lib/docker/repositories: permission denied` you may have an
incomplete Docker installation or insufficient privileges to access
Docker on your machine. 

Additionally, depending on your Docker system configuration, you may be required
to preface each `docker` command with `sudo`. To avoid having to use `sudo` with
the `docker` command, your system administrator can create a Unix group called
`docker` and add users to it.

For more information about installing Docker or `sudo` configuration, refer to
the [installation](/installation) instructions for your operating system.


## Download a pre-built image

    # Download an ubuntu image
    $ docker pull ubuntu

This will find the `ubuntu` image by name on
[*Docker Hub*](/userguide/dockerrepos/#searching-for-images)
and download it from [Docker Hub](https://hub.docker.com) to a local
image cache.

> **Note**:
> When the image is successfully downloaded, you see a 12 character
> hash `539c0211cd76: Download complete` which is the
> short form of the image ID. These short image IDs are the first 12
> characters of the full image ID - which can be found using
> `docker inspect` or `docker images --no-trunc=true`.

## Running an interactive shell

To run an interactive shell in the Ubuntu image:

    $ docker run -i -t ubuntu /bin/bash       
  
The `-i` flag starts an interactive container. The `-t` flag creates a pseudo-TTY that attaches `stdin` and `stdout`.  

To detach the `tty` without exiting the shell, use the escape sequence `Ctrl-p` + `Ctrl-q`. The container will continue to exist in a stopped state once exited. To list all containers, stopped and running use the `docker ps -a` command.

## Bind Docker to another host/port or a Unix socket

> **Warning**:
> Changing the default `docker` daemon binding to a
> TCP port or Unix *docker* user group will increase your security risks
> by allowing non-root users to gain *root* access on the host. Make sure
> you control access to `docker`. If you are binding
> to a TCP port, anyone with access to that port has full Docker access;
> so it is not advisable on an open network.

With `-H` it is possible to make the Docker daemon to listen on a
specific IP and port. By default, it will listen on
`unix:///var/run/docker.sock` to allow only local connections by the
*root* user. You *could* set it to `0.0.0.0:2375` or a specific host IP
to give access to everybody, but that is **not recommended** because
then it is trivial for someone to gain root access to the host where the
daemon is running.

Similarly, the Docker client can use `-H` to connect to a custom port.

`-H` accepts host and port assignment in the following format:

    tcp://[host][:port][path] or unix://path

For example:

-   `tcp://host:2375` -> TCP connection on
    host:2375
-   `tcp://host:2375/path` -> TCP connection on
    host:2375 and prepend path to all requests
-   `unix://path/to/socket` -> Unix socket located
    at `path/to/socket`

`-H`, when empty, will default to the same value as
when no `-H` was passed in.

`-H` also accepts short form for TCP bindings:

    host[:port] or :port

Run Docker in daemon mode:

    $ sudo <path to>/docker daemon -H 0.0.0.0:5555 &

Download an `ubuntu` image:

    $ docker -H :5555 pull ubuntu

You can use multiple `-H`, for example, if you want to listen on both
TCP and a Unix socket

    # Run docker in daemon mode
    $ sudo <path to>/docker daemon -H tcp://127.0.0.1:2375 -H unix:///var/run/docker.sock &
    # Download an ubuntu image, use default Unix socket
    $ docker pull ubuntu
    # OR use the TCP port
    $ docker -H tcp://127.0.0.1:2375 pull ubuntu

## Starting a long-running worker process

    # Start a very useful long-running process
    $ JOB=$(docker run -d ubuntu /bin/sh -c "while true; do echo Hello world; sleep 1; done")

    # Collect the output of the job so far
    $ docker logs $JOB

    # Kill the job
    $ docker kill $JOB

## Listing containers

    $ docker ps # Lists only running containers
    $ docker ps -a # Lists all containers

## Controlling containers

    # Start a new container
    $ JOB=$(docker run -d ubuntu /bin/sh -c "while true; do echo Hello world; sleep 1; done")

    # Stop the container
    $ docker stop $JOB

    # Start the container
    $ docker start $JOB

    # Restart the container
    $ docker restart $JOB

    # SIGKILL a container
    $ docker kill $JOB

    # Remove a container
    $ docker stop $JOB # Container must be stopped to remove it
    $ docker rm $JOB

## Bind a service on a TCP port

    # Bind port 4444 of this container, and tell netcat to listen on it
    $ JOB=$(docker run -d -p 4444 ubuntu:12.10 /bin/nc -l 4444)

    # Which public port is NATed to my container?
    $ PORT=$(docker port $JOB 4444 | awk -F: '{ print $2 }')

    # Connect to the public port
    $ echo hello world | nc 127.0.0.1 $PORT

    # Verify that the network connection worked
    $ echo "Daemon received: $(docker logs $JOB)"

## Committing (saving) a container state

Save your containers state to an image, so the state can be
re-used.

When you commit your container, Docker only stores the diff (difference) between the source image and the current state of the container's image. To list images you already have, use the `docker images` command. 

    # Commit your container to a new named image
    $ docker commit <container> <some_name>

    # List your images
    $ docker images

You now have an image state from which you can create new instances.

Read more about [*Share Images via
Repositories*](/userguide/dockerrepos) or
continue to the complete [*Command
Line*](/reference/commandline/cli)