Executing Commands in Containers in Docker
From the Docker cheat sheet · Container Management · verified Jul 2026
Executing Commands in Containers
Run commands inside running containers with docker exec and copy files with docker cp
bash
# Run a command in a running container
docker exec my-container ls /app
# Open an interactive shell
docker exec -it my-container sh
docker exec -it my-container bash
# Copy files between host and container
docker cp my-container:/app/logs ./logs
docker cp ./config.yml my-container:/app/config.yml💡 docker exec -it opens an interactive terminal — use sh for Alpine, bash for Debian/Ubuntu
⚡ Use docker cp to quickly grab log files or inject config without rebuilding
📌 docker stats shows live resource usage — essential for debugging memory/CPU issues
🟢 docker exec -d runs the command in the background without attaching to it
execcpdebug