From Scratch · The Field Guide
Not a flag-memorisation tutorial. Eight modules that build a real mental model: what a container actually is, how images are layered, and how to run, network, store, ship, and secure them. Every module is hands-on — you run the commands yourself and predict the output before you hit enter.
What a container really is: namespaces, cgroups, the copy-on-write filesystem, images vs containers, and Docker's architecture end to end.
Read on →The container lifecycle and the dozen CLI commands you'll type every working day, including run, exec, logs, inspect, and friends.
Read on →Build your own images: the core instructions, how layers and the build cache work, and the habits that separate a clean image from a bloated one.
Read on →Persist data beyond the container's lifetime (named volumes, bind mounts, and tmpfs) and how to run a database without losing your data.
Read on →Connect containers together: bridge networks, built-in DNS, port publishing, and why containers on the same network find each other by name.
Read on →Define and run multi-service apps from a single YAML file: services, networks, volumes, and dependencies, all brought up with one command.
Read on →Distribute images: push and pull, tags vs digests, public and private registries, and how to make your builds reproducible.
Read on →Harden the whole stack: least privilege, non-root containers, image scanning for CVEs, and the supply-chain basics every production setup needs.
Read on →Work through the modules in order — each builds on the last. Reading is not enough: Docker is muscle memory, so run every command yourself and predict the output before you hit enter. Complete beginners start at Module 00; if you already know what a container is, jump straight to Module 01.