{"id":48413,"date":"2025-02-08T08:27:31","date_gmt":"2025-02-08T08:27:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/?p=48413"},"modified":"2025-07-12T05:38:43","modified_gmt":"2025-07-12T05:38:43","slug":"docker-stats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/docker-stats\/","title":{"rendered":"Docker commands Guide – docker stats with examples"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Here\u2019s a complete tutorial<\/strong> on docker stats<\/code>, covering what it does<\/strong>, a comprehensive list of examples<\/strong>, and use cases<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

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

docker stats<\/code> is a Docker command that provides real-time resource usage statistics<\/strong> for running containers, such as CPU, memory, network I\/O, and block I\/O<\/strong>. It\u2019s useful for monitoring the performance of your containers and diagnosing resource-related issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key Features:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  • Displays live resource usage<\/strong> for one or more containers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Helps in performance monitoring<\/strong> and resource optimization<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Works similarly to the top<\/code> command<\/strong> in Linux but is container-specific.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Supports customized output<\/strong> and filtering<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
    \n\n\n\n

    Basic Syntax<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
    docker<\/span> stats<\/span> [OPTIONS]<\/span> [CONTAINER...]<\/span>\n<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> CSS<\/span> (<\/span>css<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
    Options:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    • --all<\/code>, -a<\/code>: Show stats for all containers<\/strong>, not just running ones.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • --format<\/code>: Customize the output using Go templates.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • --no-stream<\/code>: Show only a single snapshot<\/strong> of stats, instead of continuous updates.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • --no-trunc<\/code>: Do not truncate output (show full container IDs and names).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      Examples of docker stats<\/code><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
      1. Show Real-Time Stats for All Running Containers<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
      docker stats\n<\/code><\/span><\/pre>\n\n\n
      Example Output:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n
      CONTAINER ID   NAME        CPU %     MEM USAGE \/ LIMIT   MEM %     NET I\/O   BLOCK I\/O   PIDS\na1b2c3d4e5f6   my_app      2.50%     512MiB \/ 1GiB      50.00%    1.2kB\/1kB  0B\/0B       5\nb2c3d4e5f67g   my_db       0.75%     256MiB \/ 512MiB    50.00%    5kB\/5kB   0B\/0B       3\n<\/code><\/span><\/pre>\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      2. Show Stats for a Specific Container<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
      docker stats my_app\n<\/code><\/span><\/pre>\n\n\n
      This displays live stats only for my_app<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      3. Show a Single Snapshot of Stats<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
      docker stats --no-stream\n<\/code><\/span><\/pre>\n\n\n
      This displays container stats once and exits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      4. Show Stats for Multiple Containers<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
      docker stats my_app my_db\n<\/code><\/span><\/pre>\n\n\n
      Displays real-time stats for both my_app<\/code> and my_db<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      5. Show Stats for All Containers (Including Stopped)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
      docker stats --all\n<\/code><\/span><\/pre>\n\n\n
      This includes stats for stopped containers, showing 0%<\/code> CPU and memory usage for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      6. Customize Output with --format<\/code><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
      docker stats --format \"table {{.Name}}\\t{{.CPUPerc}}\\t{{.MemUsage}}\"<\/span>\n<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
      Example Output:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n
      NAME       CPU %     MEM USAGE\nmy_app     1.25%     512MiB \/ 1GiB\nmy_db      0.50%     256MiB \/ 512MiB\n<\/code><\/span><\/pre>\n\n\n
      This formats the output to show only container name, CPU percentage, and memory usage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      7. Show Full Container IDs and Names<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
      docker stats --no-trunc\n<\/code><\/span><\/pre>\n\n\n
      Prevents truncation of container IDs and names.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      8. Monitor Resource Usage in a Script<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
      #!\/bin\/bash<\/span>\nwhile<\/span> true<\/span>; do<\/span>\n  docker stats --no-stream >> resource_usage.log\n  sleep 60<\/span>\ndone\n<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
      This script logs resource usage for all containers every minute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      9. Monitor Specific Resource Usage for a Container<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
      docker stats my_web_container --no-stream --format \"CPU: {{.CPUPerc}}, Memory: {{.MemUsage}}\"<\/span>\n<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
      Example Output:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n
      CPU<\/span>: 2.00%, Memory: 300MiB \/ 1GiB\n<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> HTTP<\/span> (<\/span>http<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      10. Combine with Other Docker Commands<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
      Restart a container if its memory usage exceeds a threshold:<\/p>\n\n\n
      if<\/span> [[ $(docker stats my_app --no-stream --format \"{{.MemPerc}}\"<\/span> | cut -d'%'<\/span> -f1) > 80<\/span> ]]; then\n  docker restart my_app\nfi\n<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
      This checks if the container\u2019s memory usage is above 80% and restarts it if true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      Use Cases for docker stats<\/code><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
      1. Performance Monitoring<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
        \n
      • Continuously monitor CPU, memory, and I\/O usage for critical services.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Identify resource bottlenecks in multi-container environments.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
        2. Debugging Resource-Related Issues<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
          \n
        • Diagnose high memory or CPU usage that could cause containers to slow down or crash.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Example: Find containers with abnormal CPU spikes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
          3. Capacity Planning<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
            \n
          • Use historical stats to plan resource allocation for your containers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Example: Increase memory allocation for a database container if its usage frequently reaches the limit.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
            4. Automation and Scripting<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
              \n
            • Automate actions like scaling services, restarting containers, or triggering alerts based on resource thresholds.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
              5. Security and Incident Response<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
                \n
              • Monitor suspicious behavior in containers (e.g., unexpected CPU or network spikes).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Example: Detect a compromised container generating unusual network traffic.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
                6. CI\/CD Pipelines<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
                  \n
                • Use docker stats<\/code> to monitor resource usage during builds and tests to avoid exceeding CI system limits.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
                  \n\n\n\n
                  List of Common docker stats<\/code> Commands<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                  Command<\/strong><\/th>Description<\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
                  docker stats<\/code><\/td>Show real-time stats for all running containers<\/td><\/tr>
                  docker stats my_container<\/code><\/td>Show stats for a specific container<\/td><\/tr>
                  docker stats --no-stream<\/code><\/td>Show a single snapshot of stats<\/td><\/tr>
                  docker stats --all<\/code><\/td>Show stats for all containers (including stopped)<\/td><\/tr>
                  docker stats --format \"table {{.Name}} {{.CPUPerc}} {{.MemUsage}}\"<\/code><\/td>Customize output<\/td><\/tr>
                  docker stats --no-trunc<\/code><\/td>Show full container IDs and names<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
                  \n\n\n\n
                  Best Practices for Using docker stats<\/code>:<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                    \n
                  1. Monitor resource usage regularly<\/strong> to prevent performance issues.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  2. Use --format<\/code> for clarity<\/strong> in automation and scripts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  3. Combine with alerting tools<\/strong> (like Prometheus or Grafana) for automated resource monitoring.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  4. Set resource limits (--memory<\/code>, --cpus<\/code>)<\/strong> for containers to avoid unexpected resource consumption.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  5. Analyze historical trends<\/strong> for capacity planning.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
                    \n\n\n\n
                    Common Errors and Solutions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                      \n
                    1. “No such container”<\/strong>
                      \u2192 Ensure the container exists and is running. Use docker ps<\/code> to verify.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    2. Stats show 0%<\/code> CPU and memory usage<\/strong>
                      \u2192 This is expected for paused or stopped containers. Use docker stats --all<\/code> to confirm their status.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    3. Output is too large<\/strong>
                      \u2192 Use --format<\/code> to filter and display only the necessary fields.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
                      \n\n\n\n
                      Combining docker stats<\/code> with Other Tools<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                        \n
                      1. Monitor with Prometheus and Grafana<\/strong> for advanced visualization and alerting.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                      2. Integrate with custom scripts<\/strong> for automated scaling or resource management.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
                        Example: Logging Resource Usage<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
                        docker stats --no-stream --format \"CPU: {{.CPUPerc}}, Mem: {{.MemUsage}}\"<\/span> >> usage.log\n<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
                        \n\n\n\n
                        <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
                        Here\u2019s a complete tutorial on docker stats, covering what it does, a comprehensive list of examples, and use cases. What is docker stats? docker stats is a Docker command that… <\/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-48413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-docker"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48413","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=48413"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48413\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48415,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48413\/revisions\/48415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}