How to get the IDs of Docker Containers that belong to a Service

Docker is a platform for developing, shipping, and running container applications. Containers are lightweight, portable, and self-sufficient units that can run applications and their dependencies in isolated environments. When we create a container, it is automatically assigned an ID. This unique identifier enables easy management and tracking of individual containers, simplifying starting, stopping, or deleting them as needed.

Docker CLI

To retrieve the IDs of Docker containers associated with a specific service, we can use the Docker CLI (Command Line Interface).

Docker CLI (Command Line Interface) empowers users to efficiently manage Docker containers and images. It offers a streamlined way to create, deploy, and manage applications using Docker containers. With commands for building, running, and networking containers, Docker CLI simplifies the process of containerization, enabling seamless development and deployment workflows across diverse environments.

Following is the command to find the ID of the container for a specific service.

docker ps --filter "name=<service-name>" --format "{{.ID}}"
Finding id of container

In the provided command, replace <service_name> with the actual name of the service for which you want to find the container ID. This command will return the ID of the running container.

Docker CLI in action

In the widget below, we have initiated two different services product-service and website. Now, we will find the ID of the container with the help of Docker CLI.

Note: We have already implemented the above-mentioned command in the following widget. Click the “Run” button in the widget below to execute the code.

version: '3'

services:
  product-service:
    build: ./product
    volumes: 
      - ./product:/usr/src/app
    ports:
      - 5001:80

  website:
    image: php:apache
    volumes: 
      - ./website:/var/www/html
    ports:
      - 5000:80
    depends_on:
      - product-service
Implementaion of Docker

Code explanation

  • Line 1: Specifying the version of the docker-compose file format.

  • Line 3: We use service keyword to specify our services. We have initiated two different services named as product-service and website.

The products-service service:

  • Line 5: Specifying the path to the build context, which in our case, is ./products.

  • Lines 6–7: Mounting a volume.

  • Lines 8–9: Mapping ports in the host:container format.

The website service:

  • Line 12: Docker Compose ensures that the “website” service is based on a PHP image with Apache server php:apache available at Docker Hub

  • Lines 13–14: Mounting a volume.

  • Lines 15–16: Mapping ports in the host:container format.

  • Lines 17–18: Expressing a dependency between website and product-service. We would encourage you to read about the depends on keyword in the Docker Compose documentation.

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