How to start all container in Docker

In this blog, we will discuss how we can start all containers at once in Docker with the help of one single command.

Table of Content

What is a Docker?

Docker is a platform that helps you run applications inside containers. Containers are just small closed places for your software. Suppose you have many containers in your system and you want to start all of them. So instead of starting each container individually, you can start all together with one single command in Docker.

Command to Start All Containers

To start all containers in Docker, We use the following command:

docker start $(docker ps -aq)

What Does It Mean?

docker ps -aq: It will give you a list of all container IDs.

  • docker ps is used to list all containers.
  • -a shows all containers.
  • -q converts the output into container IDs without any extra information.

docker start: This command will start all containers. Just give it the container IDs and it will start them.

$(docker ps -aq):  It is used to tell the docker to start all containers in the list provided by docker ps -aq.

How Does Docker Handle Already Running Containers?

When there are already running containers, Docker will just skip them. docker start command will only start stopped containers. It will not affect the containers that are already running, so you don’t have to worry about active processes.

How to Check the Status of Your Containers?

We use the following command to check if the containers are running or stopped:

docker ps -a

This command will show the list of all containers and what are their statuses.

Conclusion

So far in this article, we have learned that Docker is a platform that helps you run applications inside containers. Containers are just small closed places for your software. We use the docker start $(docker ps -aq) command to start all containers and the docker ps -a command to check the statuses of all containers.

About the Author

Senior Cloud Computing Associate

Rupinder is a distinguished Cloud Computing & DevOps associate with architect-level AWS, Azure, and GCP certifications. He has extensive experience in Cloud Architecture, Deployment and optimization, Cloud Security, and more. He advocates for knowledge sharing and in his free time trains and mentors working professionals who are interested in the Cloud & DevOps domain.

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