Docker Documentation

A comprehensive guide to building, shipping, and running applications with Docker. From first-time installation to production-grade orchestration with Compose.

Learning Path

1. Introduction

Start here to understand the container revolution and core architecture.

• Introduction and Core Concepts — Architecture, History, and Licensing
• Installation and Engine Setup — Secure host setup

2. Core Workflows

Master the three phases of the Docker lifecycle: Build, Ship, and Run.

Phase	Module	Focus
Build	Images and Build Workflows	Dockerfiles, Multistage Builds, and Image Optimization
Run	Containers and Runtime	Lifecycle, Healthchecks, and Resource Limits
Connect	Networking	Bridge, Host, Overlay, and DNS Service Discovery
Persist	Volumes and Data	Stateful data, backups, and bind mounts

3. Orchestration & Operations

Move from single containers to multi-service stacks and production maintenance.

• Docker Compose in Depth — Multi-container applications
• Operations and Observability — Logging, Monitoring, and Maintenance
• Security Hardening — Rootless mode, secrets, and scanning

4. Advanced & Reference

Expert-level tuning, troubleshooting, and strategy.

• Optimization — Image size and build speed
• Strategy — Automation and long-term management
• Troubleshooting — Incident runbooks
• Cheatsheet — Quick command reference

Common Architectures

1) The standard "Build -> Ship -> Run" Pipeline

flowchart LR
    DEV[Developer] -->|git push| REPO[Source Code]
    REPO -->|CI Build| BUILDER[Docker Build]
    BUILDER -->|docker push| REGISTRY[(Container Registry)]
    REGISTRY -->|docker pull| PROD[Production Server]
    PROD -->|docker run| APP[Running App]

2) Local Development with Compose

flowchart TD
    subgraph Host["Developer Machine"]
        COMPOSE[docker-compose.yml] --> APP[App Container]
        COMPOSE --> DB[Database Container]
        APP -->|Network| DB
        APP -->|Bind Mount| CODE[Source Code]
    end

Tooling Matrix

Tool	Role	Best For
Docker Engine	Runtime & Build	Single-node servers, local development
Docker Compose	Orchestration	Multi-container apps on a single host
Podman	Runtime (Alternative)	Rootless by design, daemonless (RedHat ecosystem)
Kubernetes	Orchestration	Multi-node clusters, high availability, auto-scaling

Quick Start

first-run.sh

# 1) Run your first container (Nginx web server)
docker run -d -p 8080:80 --name my-web-server nginx:alpine

# 2) Verify it's running
docker ps

# 3) Check the logs
docker logs my-web-server

# 4) Stop and remove it
docker stop my-web-server
docker rm my-web-server

Prerequisites

• Familiarity with Linux command line
• Basic understanding of networking (IPs, Ports)

Success Criteria

By the end of this documentation, you will be able to:

• Write optimized Multi-Stage Dockerfiles.
• Debug networking issues between containers.
• Manage persistent state safely.
• Orchestrate full stacks with Docker Compose.