docker-run

Q: How do I install docker-run?

Run npx skills add https://github.com/full-stack-skills/docker-skills --skill docker-run in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/docker-run/ (personal) or .claude/skills/docker-run/ (project).

by full-stack-skillsDevOps & Cloud

Guidance for running and managing Docker containers. Covers the complete container lifecycle (create/start/stop/rm/restart), resource constraints (--memory/--cpus), health checks (HEALTHCHECK), restart policies, logging drivers, container inspection (inspect/stats/top), exec debugging, and signal handling. Use when the user asks about docker run, container management, resource limits, health checks, docker logs, docker exec, restart policies, or needs to manage running containers. 使用场景：docker run、容器管理、资源限制、健康检查、重启策略、docker logs、docker exec、docker ps.

Installs: 100
Last 24h: —
Trending rank: —
Security: Not audited

Install

Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.

npx skills add https://github.com/full-stack-skills/docker-skills --skill docker-run

01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads docker-run automatically when relevant.
03
Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.

SKILL.md

The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.

Docker Run — Container Lifecycle Management

Complete guidance for running, monitoring, and managing Docker containers.

When to Use

ALWAYS use this skill when the user mentions:

"docker run", "运行容器", "启动容器"
"docker ps", "docker stop", "docker restart"
"容器资源限制", "memory limit", "CPU limit"
"健康检查", "healthcheck"
"docker logs", "查看日志"
"docker exec", "进入容器"
"restart policy", "容器重启策略"

Container Lifecycle

docker pull → docker create → docker start → docker run (create+start)
                                                │
                          ┌─────────────────────┼─────────────────────┐
                          ▼                     ▼                     ▼
                      Running              Paused/Stopped         Killed
                          │                     │
                          ▼                     ▼
                      docker stop          docker start
                      docker kill          docker restart
                      docker rm            docker rm -f

`docker run` — Complete Reference

docker run [OPTIONS] IMAGE [COMMAND] [ARG...]

# Most common form
docker run -d --name myapp \
  -p 8080:8080 \
  -v /host/path:/container/path \
  -e ENV_VAR=value \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  myimage:tag

Flag	Purpose	Example
`-d`	Detached (background)	`-d`
`--name`	Container name	`--name my-nginx`
`-p`	Port mapping (host:container)	`-p 8080:80`
`-v`	Volume/bind mount	`-v data:/var/lib/mysql`
`-e`	Environment variable	`-e DB_HOST=localhost`
`--env-file`	Load env from file	`--env-file .env`
`--restart`	Restart policy	`--restart unless-stopped`
`--rm`	Auto-remove on stop	`--rm` (for temp containers)

Resource Constraints

# Memory: limit + reservation
docker run --memory=512m --memory-reservation=256m myapp

# CPU: shares (relative) + cpus (absolute)
docker run --cpus=2 --cpu-shares=1024 myapp

# Combined: production-grade limits
docker run -d \
  --memory=1g --memory-swap=1g \
  --cpus=2 \
  --pids-limit=100 \
  myapp

Resource	Flag	Best Practice
Memory	`--memory=512m`	Always set; container can exhaust host memory otherwise
Memory+Swap	`--memory-swap=1g`	Set equal to memory to disable swap
CPU	`--cpus=2`	Hard limit; `--cpu-shares` for relative priority
PIDs	`--pids-limit=100`	Prevent fork bombs
Ulimits	`--ulimit nofile=65536`	File descriptor limits

Health Checks

Dockerfile HEALTHCHECK

HEALTHCHECK --interval=30s --timeout=3s --retries=3 \
  CMD curl -f http://localhost:8080/health || exit 1

Health Check States

starting → healthy (passes)
         → unhealthy (fails 3 consecutive checks)

# Check health status
docker inspect --format='{{.State.Health.Status}}' myapp

# Health check in compose
# services.app.healthcheck.test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:8080/health"]

Restart Policies

Policy	Behavior	Use Case
`no`	Never restart (default)	One-off tasks
`on-failure[:N]`	Restart on non-zero exit, max N times	Batch jobs
`always`	Always restart	Critical services (be careful — infinite loop risk)
`unless-stopped`	Restart unless explicitly stopped	Recommended for most services

docker run --restart unless-stopped myapp
docker update --restart always myapp  # Change policy on running container

Logging & Debugging

# View logs
docker logs myapp                # All logs
docker logs -f myapp             # Follow (tail -f)
docker logs --tail 50 myapp      # Last 50 lines
docker logs --since 10m myapp    # Last 10 minutes

# Execute commands in container
docker exec -it myapp sh         # Interactive shell
docker exec myapp cat /etc/hosts # Run single command

# Inspect state
docker inspect myapp             # Full JSON metadata
docker stats myapp               # Live resource usage
docker top myapp                 # Running processes
docker port myapp                # Port mappings

Signal Handling

docker stop myapp    → SIGTERM → wait 10s → SIGKILL
docker kill myapp    → SIGKILL immediately
docker kill -s HUP myapp → Send custom signal

Signal	docker command	Container effect
SIGTERM	`docker stop`	Graceful shutdown (default)
SIGKILL	`docker kill`	Force kill (no cleanup)
SIGHUP	`docker kill -s HUP`	Reload config (app-specific)

Workflow — 推荐操作流程

Step 1: 拉取或构建镜像: docker pull 或 docker build 准备好镜像 Step 2: 运行容器: docker run -d --name myapp -p 8080:8080 -v data:/data --memory 512m myapp Step 3: 验证启动: docker ps + docker logs myapp 确认运行正常 Step 4: 配置健康检查: 确保 HEALTHCHECK 在 Dockerfile 中定义或运行时指定 Step 5: 监控运行: docker stats + docker logs -f 持续观察

Gotchas — Common Pitfalls

Default --memory=0 (unlimited): Container can consume all host memory. → Recovery: docker run --memory=512m --cpus=1 app; check usage with docker stats.
docker stop timeout: Default 10s grace period. → Recovery: docker stop -t 30 myapp; ensure app handles SIGTERM properly.
docker run creates new container: Running docker run nginx twice creates two containers. → Recovery: docker start <existing-name> to restart; docker ps -a to find stopped containers.
Logs filling disk: JSON-file driver has no rotation by default. → Recovery: docker run --log-opt max-size=10m --log-opt max-file=3 app; existing containers: edit /etc/docker/daemon.json + restart dockerd.
docker exec exit codes: Returns the command's exit code. → Recovery: Use for scripting: docker exec myapp healthcheck.sh || exit 1.

Boundary — 能力边界（适用与不适用场景）

分类	场景	说明
✅ 能做	docker run 运行容器	所有参数、资源限制、重启策略
✅ 能做	健康检查配置	HEALTHCHECK 指令 + 运行时覆盖
✅ 能做	日志管理	日志驱动选择 + 轮转配置
✅ 能做	进入容器调试	docker exec / docker attach
⚠️ 需条件	--privileged 特权模式	仅调试用，生产禁止
⚠️ 需条件	修改运行中容器限制	需 `docker update`，部分参数不可动态改
❌ 超范围	编写 Dockerfile	使用 `docker-dockerfile`
❌ 超范围	多容器编排	使用 `docker-compose`
❌ 超范围	镜像构建	使用 `docker-build`

When NOT to Use This Skill

❌ Skip	✅ Use Instead
Docker basics / first-time setup	`docker-basics`
Writing Dockerfile	`docker-build`
Multi-container apps	`docker-compose`
Network configuration	`docker-networking`
Storage/Volume management	`docker-storage`

Security & Stability

Always set --memory and --cpus limits in production to prevent noisy-neighbor issues.
Avoid --privileged flag. Use specific --cap-add instead.
Never run containers as root. Use --user flag or USER in Dockerfile.
Use --read-only for stateless containers where possible.
No executable scripts bundled. Guidance only.

📚 官方文档参考

文档	地址
Docker 引擎	https://docs.docker.com/engine/
docker run 参考	https://docs.docker.com/reference/cli/docker/container/run/
容器管理 CLI	https://docs.docker.com/reference/cli/docker/container/
运行时选项	https://docs.docker.com/engine/reference/run/
资源限制	https://docs.docker.com/config/containers/resource_constraints/
日志驱动	https://docs.docker.com/config/containers/logging/

🧭 Docker Skills Journey

📍 You are here: docker-run — Step 3: 容器管理与运维

← Previous: docker-build — Dockerfile & 镜像构建 → Next: docker-networking / docker-storage / docker-compose

FAQ

What does the docker-run skill do?

How do I install docker-run?

Run npx skills add https://github.com/full-stack-skills/docker-skills --skill docker-run in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/docker-run/ (personal) or .claude/skills/docker-run/ (project).

Which AI agents can use docker-run?

Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.

Is docker-run safe to install?

No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.

Who maintains docker-run?

It is published by full-stack-skills in full-stack-skills/docker-skills. It has 100 recorded installs.