DOCKER(1) Docker User Manuals DOCKER(1)
NAME
docker-container-attach - Attach local standard input, output, and er-
ror streams to a running container
SYNOPSIS
docker container attach [OPTIONS] CONTAINER
DESCRIPTION
The docker attach command allows you to attach to a running container
using the container's ID or name, either to view its ongoing output or
to control it interactively. You can attach to the same contained
process multiple times simultaneously, screen sharing style, or quickly
view the progress of your detached process.
To stop a container, use CTRL-c. This key sequence sends SIGKILL to the
container. You can detach from the container (and leave it running) us-
ing a configurable key sequence. The default sequence is CTRL-p CTRL-q.
You configure the key sequence using the --detach-keys option or a con-
figuration file. See config-json(5) for documentation on using a con-
figuration file.
It is forbidden to redirect the standard input of a docker attach com-
mand while attaching to a TTY-enabled container (i.e., launched with -i
and -t).
EXAMPLES
Attaching to a container
In this example the top command is run inside a container from an
ubuntu image, in detached mode, then attaches to it, and then termi-
nates the container with CTRL-c:
$ docker run -d --name topdemo alpine top -b
$ docker attach topdemo
Mem: 2395856K used, 5638884K free, 2328K shrd, 61904K buff, 1524264K cached
CPU: 0% usr 0% sys 0% nic 99% idle 0% io 0% irq 0% sirq
Load average: 0.15 0.06 0.01 1/567 6
PID PPID USER STAT VSZ %VSZ CPU %CPU COMMAND
1 0 root R 1700 0% 3 0% top -b
^C
Override the detach sequence
Use the --detach-keys option to override the Docker key sequence for
detach. This is useful if the Docker default sequence conflicts with
key sequence you use for other applications. There are two ways to de-
fine your own detach key sequence, as a per-container override or as a
configuration property on your entire configuration.
To override the sequence for an individual container, use the --detach-
keys=key flag with the docker attach command. The format of the key is
either a letter [a-Z], or the ctrl-value, where value is one of the
following:
• a-z (a single lowercase alpha character )
• @ (at sign)
• [ (left bracket)
• *\\* (two backward slashes)
• _ (underscore)
• ^ (caret)
These a, ctrl-a, X, or *ctrl-\* values are all examples of valid key
sequences. To configure a different configuration default key sequence
for all containers, see docker(1).
OPTIONS
--detach-keys="" Override the key sequence for detaching a con-
tainer
--no-stdin[=false] Do not attach STDIN
--sig-proxy[=true] Proxy all received signals to the process
SEE ALSO
docker-container(1)
Docker Community Apr 2026 DOCKER(1)
Generated by dwww version 1.14 on Sat Jun 13 09:42:06 CEST 2026.