Run Your First Docker Container (2026 Step-by-Step)

📰 Dev.to · David Tio

Learn to run your first Docker container in 2026 with a step-by-step guide

beginner Published 16 Mar 2026

Action Steps

Install Docker on your machine using the official installation guide
Pull a Docker image from Docker Hub using the command 'docker pull <image_name>'
Run a Docker container using the command 'docker run -it <image_name>'
Access the container shell using the command 'docker exec -it <container_id> /bin/bash'
Clean up properly by stopping and removing the container using 'docker stop <container_id>' and 'docker rm <container_id>'

Who Needs to Know This

DevOps teams and software engineers can benefit from this guide to get started with Docker containers

Key Insight

💡 Running a Docker container involves pulling an image, running the container, and accessing the shell

Key Takeaways

Learn to run your first Docker container in 2026 with a step-by-step guide

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Title: Run Your First Docker Container (2026 Step-by-Step)

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Published Time: 2026-03-16T03:13:35Z

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Posted on Mar 16 • Originally published at [blog.dtio.app](https://blog.dtio.app/2026/03/run-your-first-docker-container-2026.html) on Mar 16

# Run Your First Docker Container (2026 Step-by-Step)

[#docker](https://dev.to/t/docker)[#tutorial](https://dev.to/t/tutorial)[#linux](https://dev.to/t/linux)[#beginners](https://dev.to/t/beginners)

# [](https://dev.to/davidtio/run-your-first-docker-container-2026-step-by-step-14ab#run-your-first-docker-container-2026-stepbystep) Run Your First Docker Container (2026 Step-by-Step)

**Quick one-liner:** Learn how to run your first Docker container — from finding images on Docker Hub to accessing the container shell and cleaning up properly.

* * *

## [](https://dev.to/davidtio/run-your-first-docker-container-2026-step-by-step-14ab#why-this-matters) Why This Matters

Now that Docker is installed, it's time to run your first container.

If you're like most people starting with Docker, you might be tempted to ju

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Run Your First Docker Container (2026 Step-by-Step)

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