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From Docker to Podman

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Getting Started
Core Usage
Advanced Concepts
Real-World Usage
Migration Lab
Summary

CLI Compatibility and Basic Commands

Learn how to use Podman with Docker-compatible commands and explore its CLI for managing containers, images, and volumes.

By Kevin McAleer,    3 Minutes

Page last updated May 24, 2025

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One of Podman’s strongest features is its Docker CLI compatibility. In most cases, you can use the exact same commands — often by simply replacing the word docker with podman.

This makes switching from Docker to Podman easier than you might expect.

🧪 Try It: Podman vs Docker Commands

Task Docker Command Podman Command
Run a container docker run -it alpine podman run -it alpine
List running containers docker ps podman ps
List all containers docker ps -a podman ps -a
Build an image docker build -t myapp . podman build -t myapp .
View logs docker logs <id> podman logs <id>
Stop a container docker stop <id> podman stop <id>
Remove a container docker rm <id> podman rm <id>
Remove an image docker rmi <image> podman rmi <image>

🧠 Tip: You can even create an alias:

alias docker=podman

🔍 What’s the Same?

  • Most of the Docker CLI commands
  • Image management using pull, push, build
  • Container lifecycle management (run, exec, rm, stop, logs)
  • Volume and network handling

🔄 What’s Different?

🔧 No Daemon

Podman commands run directly without a background service. This affects:

  • How containers are started and monitored
  • How logs and container state are handled

🛠 Rootless by Default

Most Podman installations use rootless mode:

  • Your containers run as your user (no sudo needed)
  • Files created by containers belong to your user

📁 Volumes and files created in containers are owned by the current user, not root, in rootless mode.

🧰 System Commands

Some Docker-style commands (e.g., docker system prune) may behave differently or be absent in Podman. Podman provides alternatives like:

podman image prune
podman container prune

🧪 Try It Yourself

Start a container and explore the CLI:

podman run -it --rm alpine

Inside the container:

apk add curl

Then exit and try listing and removing the container:

podman ps -a

🔐 Rootless vs Rootful Mode

You can choose to run Podman in root mode if needed:

sudo podman run ...

But in most cases, rootless mode is safer and preferred — especially for development.

Next up: Podman Features Docker Doesn’t Have

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