docker ps

Learn to list running containers with docker ps.

docker ps

docker ps lists the running containers; -a adds the stopped ones. Columns: ID, image, command, creation time, status, ports and name.

$ docker ps
CONTAINER ID   IMAGE   COMMAND                  CREATED         STATUS         PORTS    NAMES
7c2f4a9e1b3d   nginx   "/docker-entrypoint.…"   2 minutes ago   Up 2 minutes   80/tcp   web

Filtering and format

With --filter you can filter by status, name or image, and with --format choose the columns you want:

docker ps -a --filter status=exited
docker ps --filter ancestor=nginx
docker ps --format '{{.Names}}\t{{.Status}}'
docker stop $(docker ps -q)      # stop all running containers

Exercise Filter the lists

Write two commands: list the running containers derived from the nginx image; then print only the names ({{.Names}}) of all containers.

Show example solution

docker ps --filter ancestor=nginx
docker ps -a --format '{{.Names}}'

Test yourself

Which flag lists only the container IDs?
- -a
- -l
- -n
- -q
Show answer

-q — -q (quiet) prints only the IDs; it is widely used in scripts.

Show only the stopped containers.

docker ps -a --filter status=____

Show answer

docker ps -a --filter status=exited

Match the flags.

-a

All
-q

Only IDs
--filter

Filtering
--format

Column selection

Next lesson: docker stop and rm

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