Docker SSH into Container

After creating a Docker container, you may often need to connect to a container and perform some tasks.

There are several ways you can connect to your running Docker container. In this tutorial, we will show how to connect to the running Docker container.

Requirements

• A system running Linux with Docker installed.
• A root password is configured or a user account with sudo privileges.

Create WordPress Container

Before starting, you will need at least one container running in your system.

First, pull the WordPress image from the Docker Hub registry with the following command:

You should see the following output:

Now, create a container using the downloaded image by running the following command:

You should see the following output:

Now, you can verify all running container with the following command:

You should see your WordPress container in the following output:

At this point, you have one container running in your system. You can now proceed to the next step.

Connect Running container with docker exec

The docker exec is a command that allows you to connect to the running container and run your desired command inside the container.

To connect the running container, run the following command:

Once you are connected to the container, you should see the following output:

Where: c338aac5081c is the id of the container.

Now, run any command like “free -m” inside the container as shown below:

You should see the following output:

total used free shared buff/cache available

Now, exit from the running container with the following command:

Connect Running container with docker attach

The docker attaches command will also allow you to connect to the running container and manage the container.

To connect the running container using the attach command, run the following command:

Once you are connected, you should get the following output:

Conclusion

In the above guide, you learned how to connect to the running Docker container using the exec and attach command. Both commands allow you to start a new shell session and give an interactive shell to a container.