docker ps

Q: What does docker ps do?

List running (or all) Docker containers. docker ps lists containers with their ID, image, command, status, and ports. The -a flag includes stopped containers. Combined with format strings, it produces machine-parseable output for automation.

List running (or all) Docker containers.

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interactive breakdown — edit the command and press Explain

What it does

docker ps lists containers with their ID, image, command, status, and ports. The -a flag includes stopped containers. Combined with format strings, it produces machine-parseable output for automation.

Common flags

Flag	Meaning
`-a` `--all`	Show all containers (not just running)
`-q` `--quiet`	Only show container IDs
`--format`	Custom output format template
`-f` `--filter`	Filter by condition (e.g., status=exited)

Examples

docker psShow running containers · explain & risk-check →

docker ps -a --format 'table {{.Names}}\t{{.Status}}\t{{.Ports}}'Custom table format · explain & risk-check →

docker ps -q -f status=exited | xargs docker rmRemove all stopped containers · explain & risk-check →

docker ps --filter name=nginxFilter containers by name · explain & risk-check →

Pro tip

Use `docker ps --format '{{.Names}}'` to get container names for scripting — far cleaner than parsing default tabular output with awk.

docker logs docker exec docker build

Open the full explainer →More in Docker & Containers

Reference text is hand-written and may be incomplete — check man docker for your version. Test destructive commands on a non-production system first.