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Contents
  1. Docker tutorial
Getting started
  1. What is Docker
  2. Install Docker
  3. Docker Desktop interface tour
  4. Your first container
  5. Images
  6. Container lifecycle
  7. docker run flags
  8. View logs and debug
Images and Dockerfile
  1. Dockerfile basics
  2. Generate files with docker init
  3. Dockerfile instructions
  4. Build Cache and Optimization
  5. Multi-stage builds
  6. Push to Docker Hub
Data and networking
  1. Volumes and data persistence
  2. Networking and container communication
  3. Environment variables and .env
Docker Compose
  1. Docker Compose Tutorial
  2. compose.yaml syntax
  3. Docker Compose commands
  4. Build a WordPress Site
Real-world examples
  1. Python apps
  2. Node.js apps
  3. Nginx and reverse proxying
  4. MySQL
  5. PostgreSQL
  6. Redis
Operations and advanced topics
  1. Reclaim disk space
  2. Security best practices
  3. Rootless and Podman
  4. Multi-platform images
  5. Build automatically with GitHub Actions
  6. Deploy to a cloud server
  7. Internals
  8. Common error messages
  9. Docker command cheat sheet
Command reference
  1. docker build
  2. docker pull
  3. docker push
  4. docker rmi
  5. docker exec
  6. docker ps
  7. docker stop
  8. docker rm
  9. docker logs
  10. docker stats
  11. docker cp
  12. docker save
  13. docker inspect
  14. docker system
  15. docker volume
  16. docker network
  17. docker compose up
  18. docker compose down

Docker stats tutorial: Monitor real-time resource usage (--no-stream, --format)

docker stats displays a container's real-time resource usage. For process inspection and debugging, see View logs and debug.

Syntax

docker stats [OPTIONS] [CONTAINER...]
docker top CONTAINER [ps OPTIONS]

Options

OptionDescription
-a, --allShow all containers (by default, only running containers are shown)
--format TEMPLATEUse a custom template for output; you can use table, table TEMPLATE, json, or a Go template
--no-streamDisable streaming and get only the first result
--no-truncDon't truncate the output

docker top accepts ps options. The examples below use -o to specify which process fields to display.

Examples

Check all containers or specify one container

$ docker stats --no-stream
CONTAINER ID   NAME       CPU %     MEM USAGE / LIMIT     MEM %     NET I/O           BLOCK I/O         PIDS
0c009f73010b   small      0.00%     716KiB / 64MiB        1.09%     628B / 126B       381kB / 0B        1
f3e514c09baa   busy       43.08%    1.289MiB / 1.919GiB   0.07%     796B / 126B       1.83MB / 0B       1
63b9a2f9c63f   web        0.00%     4.43MiB / 1.919GiB    0.23%     838B / 126B       8.95MB / 8.19kB   2
35357aad74b1   registry   2.01%     13.19MiB / 1.919GiB   0.67%     3.89MB / 19.6kB   135MB / 3.92MB    5

$ docker stats --no-stream web
CONTAINER ID   NAME      CPU %     MEM USAGE / LIMIT     MEM %     NET I/O       BLOCK I/O         PIDS
63b9a2f9c63f   web       0.00%     3.812MiB / 1.919GiB   0.19%     838B / 126B   8.95MB / 8.19kB   2
  • --no-stream gets only the first result and doesn't continuously update the screen.
  • If you don't specify a container, multiple running containers are listed. Specifying web lists only that container.
  • MEM USAGE / LIMIT shows both usage and the limit. The limit for small is 64MiB; the other example containers show 1.919GiB.
  • NET I/O and BLOCK I/O show network and block I/O, respectively. PIDS is the process count.

Output with a table template or JSON

$ docker stats --no-stream --format 'table {{.Name}}\t{{.CPUPerc}}\t{{.MemUsage}}'
NAME       CPU %     MEM USAGE / LIMIT
small      0.00%     616KiB / 64MiB
busy       42.14%    936KiB / 1.919GiB
web        0.00%     3.723MiB / 1.919GiB
registry   0.31%     14.1MiB / 1.919GiB

$ docker stats --no-stream --format '{{json .}}' small
{"BlockIO":"381kB / 0B","CPUPerc":"0.00%","Container":"small","ID":"0c009f73010b","MemPerc":"0.79%","MemUsage":"516KiB / 64MiB","Name":"small","NetIO":"698B / 126B","PIDs":"1"}
  • The table template produces column headers. This example selects only the name, CPU percentage, and memory usage.
  • {{json .}} outputs the specified container's statistics as a single-line JSON object.
  • Usage varies between samples: both the table and JSON results for small show a 64MiB limit, but the memory usage differs.

Inspect container processes and customize fields

$ docker top web
PID                 USER                TIME                COMMAND
2315                root                0:00                nginx: master process nginx -g daemon off;
2351                101                 0:00                nginx: worker process

$ docker top web -o pid,user,comm
PID                 USER                COMMAND
2315                root                nginx
2351                101                 nginx
  • docker top lists the processes running in a container. By default, the output includes the PID, user, time, and full command.
  • With custom fields -o pid,user,comm, the output omits TIME, and COMMAND shows a shorter process name.

Exercises

Exercise: Query the small container once and display its name and memory usage in a table.

Answer 
docker stats --no-stream --format 'table {{.Name}}\t{{.MemUsage}}' small

FAQ

How do I check just one container with docker stats?

Specify the container name after the command, for example, docker stats --no-stream web. The output will include only web.

What does MEM USAGE / LIMIT mean in docker stats?

It shows memory usage and the limit. In the example, small shows 716KiB / 64MiB, so you can see the 64MiB limit directly in the field.

How do I show only PID, USER, and COMMAND with docker top?

Use docker top web -o pid,user,comm. The output will list those three fields.

Updated October 26, 2026