Docker: Shell and Copy

I’ve been learning Docker lately and learned a few new things last night: how to access a shell in a running container and how to copy files to and from a container.

Access Shell in Container

docker exec -it <container_name_or_id> sh

• exec runs a command inside a container
• -i is for “interactive” mode
• -t is for “teletype”, i.e. a shell
• a container will have an id by default, something like e4ef2fab0a5d. You can get the id by running docker ps.
• you can give a container a name if you want when creating it with docker run --name <custom_name> <image>
• sh is the shell you want to run. You can also use bash or zsh if they’re installed in the container.

Copy File from Container

docker cp <container_name_or_id>:<path_in_container> <path_on_host>

• cp is “copy”

Copy File to Container

docker cp <path_on_host> <container_name_or_id>:<path_in_container>

• the is the same as above but the paths are reversed, so the order of the paths is what determines the direction of the copy.