{"id":48354,"date":"2025-02-08T08:10:38","date_gmt":"2025-02-08T08:10:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/?p=48354"},"modified":"2025-07-12T05:40:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-12T05:40:12","slug":"docker-create","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/docker-create\/","title":{"rendered":"Docker commands Guide – docker create with examples"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Here\u2019s a complete tutorial<\/strong> on docker create<\/code>, including its purpose<\/strong>, how it differs from docker run<\/code><\/strong>, and a comprehensive list of examples<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

What is docker create<\/code>?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

docker create<\/code> is used to create a new container<\/strong> from a specified image without starting it immediately<\/strong>. This command is useful when you want to configure or inspect a container before running it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key Features:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  • Only creates<\/strong> the container; does not run it.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Useful for preparing containers with custom configurations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Returns the container ID<\/strong> after creation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Works with the same options as docker run<\/code>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
    \n\n\n\n

    Basic Syntax<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
    docker<\/span> create<\/span> [OPTIONS]<\/span> IMAGE<\/span> [COMMAND]<\/span> [ARG...]<\/span>\n<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> CSS<\/span> (<\/span>css<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
    Common Options:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    • --name<\/code>: Assign a custom name to the container.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • -p<\/code>: Map ports from the container to the host.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • -v<\/code>: Mount a volume or bind a host directory.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • -e<\/code>: Set environment variables.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • --restart<\/code>: Define the container\u2019s restart policy.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • -it<\/code>: Allocate a pseudo-TTY and keep STDIN open (interactive mode).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      Examples of docker create<\/code><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
      1. Create a Simple Container<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
      docker create ubuntu\n<\/code><\/span><\/pre>\n\n\n
      This creates a container from the ubuntu<\/code> image without running it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      2. Create a Container with a Custom Name<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
      docker create --name my_ubuntu_container ubuntu\n<\/code><\/span><\/pre>\n\n\n
      This creates a container named my_ubuntu_container<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      3. Create a Container with Port Mapping<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
      docker<\/span> create<\/span> -p<\/span> 8080:80<\/span> nginx<\/span>\n<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> CSS<\/span> (<\/span>css<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
      This creates a container with port 8080<\/code> on the host mapped to port 80<\/code> in the container.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      4. Create a Container with Environment Variables<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
      docker create -e APP_ENV=production -e DEBUG=false<\/span> my_app\n<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
      This creates a container with two environment variables: APP_ENV=production<\/code> and DEBUG=false<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      5. Create a Container with a Volume<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
      docker create -v \/host\/data:\/container\/<\/span>data my_app\n<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
      This mounts the host directory \/host\/data<\/code> to \/container\/data<\/code> in the container.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      6. Create a Container with Restart Policy<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
      docker create --restart always redis\n<\/code><\/span><\/pre>\n\n\n
      This creates a redis<\/code> container with a restart policy set to always<\/code>, meaning it will restart automatically if it stops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      7. Create a Detached Interactive Container<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
      docker create -it ubuntu\n<\/code><\/span><\/pre>\n\n\n
      The container is created in interactive mode but remains stopped until started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      8. Create a Container with a Specific Command<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
      docker create ubuntu echo<\/span> \"Hello, Docker!\"<\/span>\n<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
      The container is configured to run echo \"Hello, Docker!\"<\/code> when started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      9. Create a Container with Network Settings<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
      docker create --network my_custom_network nginx\n<\/code><\/span><\/pre>\n\n\n
      This creates a container attached to the my_custom_network<\/code> network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      10. Create a Container with a Hostname<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
      docker create --hostname my_custom_host alpine\n<\/code><\/span><\/pre>\n\n\n
      This creates an alpine<\/code> container with a custom hostname my_custom_host<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      Starting a Container Created with docker create<\/code><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
      Once a container is created with docker create<\/code>, you can start it with:<\/p>\n\n\n
      docker start CONTAINER_ID\n<\/code><\/span><\/pre>\n\n\n
      For example:<\/p>\n\n\n
      docker start my_ubuntu_container\n<\/code><\/span><\/pre>\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      Inspecting a Created Container<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
      You can inspect the configuration of a created container using:<\/p>\n\n\n
      docker inspect CONTAINER_ID\n<\/code><\/span><\/pre>\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      Difference Between docker create<\/code> and docker run<\/code><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
      docker create<\/code><\/strong><\/th>docker run<\/code><\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
      Only creates the container<\/td>Creates and starts the container<\/td><\/tr>
      Returns the container ID<\/td>Returns the container’s output<\/td><\/tr>
      Used for pre-configuration<\/td>Used for running containers<\/td><\/tr>
      Requires docker start<\/code> to run it<\/td>No need to start it manually<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      List of Common docker create<\/code> Commands<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
      Command<\/strong><\/th>Description<\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
      docker create ubuntu<\/code><\/td>Create a simple Ubuntu container<\/td><\/tr>
      docker create --name my_app nginx<\/code><\/td>Create an NGINX container with a custom name<\/td><\/tr>
      docker create -p 8080:80 nginx<\/code><\/td>Create a container with port mapping<\/td><\/tr>
      docker create -e KEY=value alpine<\/code><\/td>Create a container with environment variables<\/td><\/tr>
      docker create -v \/host:\/container busybox<\/code><\/td>Create a container with a volume<\/td><\/tr>
      docker create --restart always redis<\/code><\/td>Create a container with a restart policy<\/td><\/tr>
      docker create --network custom_net alpine<\/code><\/td>Create a container on a custom network<\/td><\/tr>
      docker create ubuntu echo \"Hello, world!\"<\/code><\/td>Create a container with a specific command<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      Best Practices for Using docker create<\/code>:<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
        \n
      1. Pre-configure containers<\/strong> with volumes, environment variables, and restart policies before starting them.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      2. Use docker inspect<\/code> to review container settings before running it.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      3. Use custom names (--name<\/code>) for easier container management.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      4. Combine with docker start<\/code> and docker exec<\/code> for full control.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
        \n\n\n\n
        Common Errors and Solutions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
          \n
        1. “Error: No such image”<\/strong>
          \u2192 Ensure the image exists or pull it using docker pull<\/code>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        2. “Duplicate container name”<\/strong>
          \u2192 Use a different name or remove the existing container with the same name: docker rm existing_container_name<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\n
        3. Container does not start after creation<\/strong>
          \u2192 Use docker start<\/code> to run it: docker start CONTAINER_ID<\/code><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
          \n\n\n\n
          <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
          Here\u2019s a complete tutorial on docker create, including its purpose, how it differs from docker run, and a comprehensive list of examples. What is docker create? docker create is used… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[4862],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-docker"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48354"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48354\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48356,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48354\/revisions\/48356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}