docker inspect: Low-Level Container & Image Detail

Get the full JSON metadata for any Docker object, scriptable with --format.

docker inspect returns low-level JSON for containers, images, networks, and volumes. This page covers extracting fields with Go templates, the workhorse for CI scripts.

What it does

docker inspect dumps the full configuration and state of an object as JSON: container exit code, health, mounts, network IPs, image config, and more. --format pulls a single field for scripts.

Common usage

Terminal

docker inspect web
docker inspect --format '{{.State.ExitCode}}' web
docker inspect --format '{{.State.Health.Status}}' web
docker inspect --format '{{json .NetworkSettings.Ports}}' web

Common errors in CI

"Error: No such object: NAME" means the container/image does not exist - check the name. A common scripting bug is "<no value>" output when a field is null or the path is wrong (e.g. .State.Health on a container with no HEALTHCHECK); guard for it. Use docker inspect --format '{{.State.ExitCode}}' to read a CI container exit code reliably.

Related guides

docker ps: List Containers, Filters & FormattingHow docker ps works: listing running and stopped containers, filters, format strings, and reading exit status… docker logs: View Container Logs & Tail in CIHow docker logs works: viewing stdout/stderr from a container, following, tailing, timestamps, and using it t… docker stats: Live Container Resource UsageHow docker stats works: streaming CPU, memory, network, and I/O per container, the --no-stream flag, and spot… docker network ls: List Docker NetworksHow docker network ls works: listing networks, the default bridge/host/none, filtering, and debugging connect…