DOCKER(1) Docker User Manuals DOCKER(1)
NAME
docker-container-exec - Execute a command in a running container
SYNOPSIS
docker container exec [OPTIONS] CONTAINER COMMAND [ARG...]
DESCRIPTION
Run a process in a running container.
The command started using docker exec will only run while the con-
tainer's primary process (PID 1) is running, and will not be restarted
if the container is restarted.
If the container is paused, then the docker exec command will wait un-
til the container is unpaused, and then run
CAPABILITIES
privileged gives the process extended Linux capabilities
⟨https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man7/capabilities.7.html⟩ when run-
ning in a container.
Without this flag, the process run by docker exec in a running con-
tainer has the same capabilities as the container, which may be lim-
ited. Set --privileged to give all capabilities to the process.
USER
user sets the username or UID used and optionally the groupname or GID
for the specified command.
The followings examples are all valid:
--user [user | user:group | uid | uid:gid | user:gid | uid:group ]
Without this argument the command will be run as root in the container.
Exit Status
The exit code from docker exec gives information about why the con-
tainer failed to exec or why it exited. When docker exec exits with a
non-zero code, the exit codes follow the chroot standard, see below:
126 if the contained command cannot be invoked
$ docker exec busybox /etc; echo $?
# exec: "/etc": permission denied
docker: Error response from daemon: Contained command could not be invoked
126
127 if the contained command cannot be found
$ docker exec busybox foo; echo $?
# exec: "foo": executable file not found in $PATH
docker: Error response from daemon: Contained command not found or does not exist
127
Exit code of contained command otherwise
$ docker exec busybox /bin/sh -c 'exit 3'
# 3
OPTIONS
-d, --detach[=false] Detached mode: run command in the background
--detach-keys="" Override the key sequence for detaching a con-
tainer
-e, --env= Set environment variables
--env-file= Read in a file of environment variables
-i, --interactive[=false] Keep STDIN open even if not attached
--privileged[=false] Give extended privileges to the command
-t, --tty[=false] Allocate a pseudo-TTY
-u, --user="" Username or UID (format: "[:]")
-w, --workdir="" Working directory inside the container
SEE ALSO
docker-container(1)
Docker Community Apr 2026 DOCKER(1)
Generated by dwww version 1.14 on Sat Jun 13 09:42:11 CEST 2026.