How to List Containers in Docker

When working with Docker, it’s essential to know how to view your running and stopped containers. Whether you’re debugging, managing resources, or reviewing deployments, Docker provides simple commands to list container details.

In this post, you’ll learn how to:

• List running Docker containers
• Show all containers (including stopped ones)
• View specific container details using formatting and filters

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✅ List Running Containers

To see only currently running containers, use:

docker ps

📋 Output Example:

CONTAINER ID   IMAGE        COMMAND                  STATUS          PORTS               NAMES
e8d12345a1f3   nginx        "nginx -g 'daemon of…"   Up 10 minutes   80/tcp              webserver

This shows:

• Container ID
• Image used
• Status (e.g., Up, Exited)
• Exposed ports
• Name assigned to the container

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🕵️ Show All Containers (Running + Stopped)

To view all containers, including those that have exited:

docker ps -a

This is helpful when you’re trying to:

• Restart a stopped container
• Remove old containers
• Debug container failures

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🧹 Show Only Recently Created Containers

Need to check the last few containers? Use the --latest or --last options:

docker ps -l       # Shows the most recently created container
docker ps -n 5     # Shows the last 5 containers

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🧰 Use Filters to Narrow Down the List

You can filter containers by status, name, or label:

docker ps -a --filter "status=exited"
docker ps --filter "name=web"

🧠 Other Useful Filters:

• status=running
• ancestor=image-name
• label=your-label

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🧾 Customize Output with --format

Tailor the output to your needs using Go templating:

docker ps --format "table {{.ID}}\t{{.Image}}\t{{.Status}}"

🔍 Example Output:

CONTAINER ID   IMAGE      STATUS
e8d12345a1f3   nginx      Up 10 minutes

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📌 Summary of Commands

Task	Command
List running containers	docker ps
List all containers	docker ps -a
Most recent container	docker ps -l
Last N containers	docker ps -n N
Filter by name/status/etc.	docker ps --filter
Format output	docker ps --format

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📝 Conclusion

Knowing how to list Docker containers is a foundational skill in working with containers effectively. Whether you need to restart, remove, or inspect containers, these commands give you full visibility into what’s running on your system.