Every Docker container moves through just a few states — running, paused, stopped, and removed — and a handful of simple commands move it between them. This tutorial walks through the full lifecycle step by step, in plain language, with a real-world example and the impact of each action.

Commands covered

  • docker container run — start a container in the background
  • docker container ls / ls -a — see what's running, and what's stopped
  • docker container pause / unpause — freeze and resume instantly
  • docker container stop / start — shut down and bring back cleanly
  • docker container restart — the classic "turn it off and on again"
  • docker container rm — remove a container for good

Key takeaway

Pause vs Stop: pause freezes the container in memory and resumes instantly; stop fully shuts it down (the container still exists and can be started again).

Tags

#Docker #DevOps #Containers #SRE #DockerTutorial #Linux

YouTube Channel

Docker Container Lifecycle Explained: run, pause, stop, restart & remove