Docker CLI: Docker Networks

Define a Docker network

Using a Docker network allows containers to communicate with each other using their container name (--name) rather than an IP address.

To delete or create a network we can use the following:

docker network create --driver bridge <network_name>

For example, to create a network named mynet, we can use:

docker network create --driver bridge mynet

Attach the container to that network in docker run with --net mynet, e.g.,

docker run \
  -d --rm --name mysql \
  -p 3306:3306 \
  --mount "src=mysqldata,target=/var/lib/mysql" \
  -e MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=mysecret \
  --net mynet \
  mysql

View networks

The following command lists all the Docker networks:

docker network ls

Delete a network

The following command deletes the network specified by its name or ID.

docker network rm <network_id_or_name>

For example, to delete a network named mynet, we can use:

docker network rm mynet

To remove all unused networks that are not currently being used by a running container, use:

docker network prune