docker stop and rm

Learn to stop and remove containers.

docker stop and rm

docker stop first sends SIGTERM to the main process, giving the application 10 seconds to shut down; if time runs out it kills it with SIGKILL. A stopped container stays on disk; docker rm deletes it:

docker stop web
docker rm web
docker rm -f cache        # force stop and remove even if running

docker start web restarts a stopped container with the same settings.

The difference between stop and kill

docker kill sends SIGKILL without waiting; the application can't close open files or save half-done work. That is why stop is normally preferred. For applications that take long to shut down, the timeout is increased:

docker stop -t 30 db     # give the database 30 seconds
docker kill web          # kill immediately
docker start web         # start again

Exercise Graceful shutdown

Write three commands: stop the db container allowing 30 seconds; remove it; then force-remove the cache container even if it is running.

Show example solution

docker stop -t 30 db
docker rm db
docker rm -f cache

Test yourself

By default, how many seconds does docker stop give the application to shut down?
- 60
- 1
- 10
- 0
Show answer

10 — It can be changed with -t: docker stop -t 30 web.
Force-remove a running container.
```
docker rm ____ cache
```
Show answer
```
docker rm -f cache
```
Match the commands.

docker stop

SIGTERM, then SIGKILL
docker kill

Immediate SIGKILL
docker rm

Removes a stopped container
docker start

Restarts a stopped one

Next lesson: docker logs

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