Run a container

Docker’s run operation involves several API calls. First make sure the image exists on the daemon, then create and start the container.

This example creates a container and pulls an image on the configured daemon. Run it against a development daemon.

<?php

require __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';

use Docker\API\Model\ContainersCreatePostBody;
use Docker\API\Model\CreateImageInfo;
use Docker\Docker;

$docker = Docker::create();

$pull = $docker->imageCreate(null, [
    'fromImage' => 'busybox',
    'tag' => 'latest',
]);
$pull->onFrame(function (CreateImageInfo $frame): void {
    if ($frame->getError() !== null) {
        throw new RuntimeException($frame->getError());
    }
});
$pull->wait();

$config = new ContainersCreatePostBody();
$config->setImage('busybox:latest');
$config->setCmd(['sh', '-c', 'printf "hello\n"']);
$config->setAttachStdout(true);
$config->setAttachStderr(true);
$config->setTty(false);

$container = $docker->containerCreate($config);
$id = $container->getId();

try {
    $docker->containerStart($id);
    $result = $docker->containerWait($id, ['condition' => 'not-running']);
    if ($result->getError()?->getMessage() !== null) {
        throw new RuntimeException($result->getError()->getMessage());
    }

    $logs = $docker->containerLogs($id, ['stdout' => true, 'stderr' => true]);
    $logs->onStdout(function (string $chunk): void {
        echo $chunk;
    });
    $logs->onStderr(function (string $chunk): void {
        fwrite(STDERR, $chunk);
    });
    $logs->wait();

    printf("Exit code: %d\n", $result->getStatusCode());
} finally {
    $docker->containerDelete($id, ['force' => true]);
}

The cleanup removes only the container created by this example. If you need to inspect it afterwards, adapt the cleanup for your development workflow. Use containerInspect($id) for its current state and containerStop($id) to stop a running container. These endpoints throw API exceptions on errors; do not depend on a raw response being returned by containerStart(). For live output, see Container logs. To run another command in an existing container, see Command output. containerWait() blocks; it is not a background task. not-running waits for the current stopped state, while next-exit waits for a subsequent exit. Pick the condition which matches your lifecycle and configure transport timeouts accordingly. getStatusCode() on its response is the container exit code, not the HTTP status. A non-zero command exit is separate from a failed API request. Avoid AutoRemove for this particular recipe: Docker can remove the container before the log/inspect calls which follow the wait. For production orchestration, decide who owns cleanup and do not let an unconditional cleanup exception hide the original operation failure.

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