Supported Docker Commands

vSphere Integrated Containers Engine 0.8 supports Docker 1.11.2. The supported version of the Docker API is 1.23. If you are using a more recent version of the Docker client, see Docker Commands Fail with a Docker API Version Error.

Docker Management Commands

Command Docker Reference Supported
dockerd Launch the Docker daemon No
info Docker system information Yes, docker-specific data, basic capacity information, list of configured volume stores, virtual container host information. Does not reveal vSphere datastore paths that might contain sensitive vSphere information.
inspect Inspect a container or image Yes. Includes information about the container network.
version Docker version information Yes. vSphere Integrated Containers Engine version provided.

Image Commands

Command Docker Reference Supported
build Build an image from a Dockerfile No
commit Create a new image from a container’s changes No
history Show the history of an image No
images Images Yes. vSphere Integrated Container Engine currently supports --no-trunc and -q/--quiet
import Import the contents from a tarball to create a filesystem image No
load Load an image from a tar archive or STDIN No
rmi Remove a Docker image Yes. vSphere Integrated Container Engine does not yet support tag or untag operations, or any options.
save Save images No
tag Tag an image into a repository No

Container Commands

Command Docker Reference Supported
attach Attach to a container Yes
container list List Containers Yes
container resize Resize a container Yes
cp Copy files or folders between a container and the local filesystem No
create Create a container Yes.
--cpuset-cpusin Docker specifies CPUs the container is allowed to use during execution (0-3, 0,1). In vSphere Integrated Containers Engine, this parameter specifies the number of virtual CPUs to allocate to the container VM. Minimum CPU count is 1, maximum is unlimited. Default is 2.
--ip allows you to set a static IP on the container. By default, the virtual container host manages the container IP.
-m --memory Minimum memory is 512MB, maximum unlimited. If unspecified, default is 2GB. vSphere Integrated Container Engine supports these options: -a, --attach, --cpuset-cpus,-e, --env, --ip, -m, --memory, -i, --interactive, --link, -l, --label, --network, --tty, -v, --volume
diff Inspect changes on a container's filesystem No
events Get real time events from the server No
exec Run a command in a running container No
export Export a container No
kill Kill a running container Yes. Docker must wait for the container to shut down.
logs Get container logs Yes, vSphere Integrated Container Engine does not yet support docker logs --timestamps (-t) and --since options.
pause Pause processes in a container No
port Obtain port data Yes. Displays port mapping data.
vSphere Integrated Container Engine supports mapping a random host port to the container when the host port is not specified.
ps Show running containers Yes. Only supports the -a/--all, --no-trunc, and -q/--quiet options.
rename Rename a container No
restart Restart a container Yes
rm Remove a container Yes, vSphere Integrated Containers Engine also removes associated anonymous and regular volumes, supports -f/--force option and the name parameter. docker rm -v and docker rm -f are not supported. To view volumes attached to a container that is removed, use docker volume ls and docker volume inspect <id>. If you continually invoke docker create to make more anonymous volumes, those volumes are left behind after each subsequent removal of that container.
run Run a command in a new container Yes. vSphere Integrated Container Engine supports container search using prettyname-ID docker run --name and these options: -d, --detach. --detach-keys, --dns
vSphere Integrated Container Engine supports mapping a random host port to the container when the host port is not specified.
vSphere Integrated Container Engine supports running images from private and custom registries.
docker run --net=host is not supported. You can specify a container network by using the --container-network option when you deploy a virtual container host.
start Start a container Yes
stats Get container stats based on resource usage No
stop Stop a container Yes. vSphere Integrated Containers Engine attempts to politely stop the container. If that fails, it powers down the VM.
top Display the running processes of a container No
unpause Unpause processes within a container No
update Update a container No
wait Wait for a container Yes

Hub and Registry Commands

Command Docker Reference Supported
login Log into a registry Yes
logout Log out from a registry Yes
pull Pull an image or repository from a registry Yes, vSphere Integrated Container Engine supports pulling from public and private registries, secure or insecure.
push Push an image or a repository to a registry No
search Search the Docker hub for images No

Network and Connectivity Commands

For more information about network operations with vSphere Integrated Containers Engine, see Container Networking with vSphere Integrated Containers Engine.

Command Docker Reference Supported
network connect Connect to a network Yes, However, this is not supported for running containers.
network create Create a network Yes. See the use case to connect to an external network in Container Networking with vSphere Integrated Containers Engine. Bridge is also supported.

The --label, --internal, and --ipam options are currently not supported.
network disconnect Disconnect a network No
network inspect Inspect a network Yes
network ls List networks/ Yes
network rm Remove a network Yes. Network name and network ID are supported.

Shared Data Volume Commands

For more information about volume operations with vSphere Integrated Containers Engine, see Using Volumes with vSphere Integrated Containers Engine.

Command Docker Reference Supported
volume create Create a volume Yes
volume inspect Information about a volume Yes, use with docker compose.
volume ls List volumes Yes. --filter is not supported.
volume rm Remove or delete a volume Yes

Docker Compose Commands

vSphere Integrated Containers Engine 0.8 supports Docker Compose version 1.10.

For more information about using Docker Compose with vSphere Integrated Containers Engine, see Creating a Containerized Application with vSphere Integrated Containers Engine.

Command Docker Reference Supported
build Build or rebuild service No. Depends on docker build.
bundle Generate a Distributed Application Bundle (DAB) from the Compose file No
config Validate and view the compose file Yes
create Create services Yes
down Stop and remove containers, networks, images, and volumes Yes
events Receive real time events from containers No. Depends on docker events.
exec Run commands in services No. Depends on docker exec.
help Get help on a command yes
kill Kill containers No, but docker kill works.
logs View output from containers Yes
pause Pause services No. Depends on docker pause.
port Print the public port for a port binding Yes
ps List containers No. Depends on docker ps --filter.
pull Pulls service images Yes
push Pushes images for service No. Depends on docker push
restart Restart services Yes
rm Remove stopped containers Yes
run Run a one-off command Yes
scale Set number of containers for a service No. Depends on docker ps --filter.
start Start services Yes
stop Stop services Yes
unpause Unpause services No. Depends on docker unpause.
up Create and start containers Conditionally supported. Does not work if there are orphaned containers. Depends on docker rename and docker ps --filter.
version Show the Docker-Compose version information Yes

Swarm Commands

This version of vSphere Integrated Containers Engine does not support Docker Swarm.