Stop and remove docker container with force ignore

Question

How can I delete a docker container with force ignore that means if there is no running docker container it should do nothing and if there is a running docker container with the name then it should stop and remove that container.

I am executing the following code to stop and remove the container.

docker rm -f CONTAINER_NAME || true

If there is a running container then everything works fine, however, if there is no container then the following error is thrown:

Error: No such container: CONTAINER_NAME

Is there something like --force ignore? I need this behaviour in order to include it in an automated Makefile.

How about first checking if such container exists and remove it only if it exists? — KamilCuk, Aug 06 '19 at 06:59
How did you get `CONTAINER_NAME` ? When you used `docker ps`, you might want to combine it with `grep` and `xargs`. — Walter A, Aug 06 '19 at 12:27

score 6 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 06 '19 at 07:00

6

try this exit code will be 1:

docker rm -f CONTAINER_NAME 2> /dev/null

this with exit code 0:

docker rm -f CONTAINER_NAME 2> /dev/null || true

answered Aug 06 '19 at 07:00

LinPy

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This ignores any error, not only `No such container`, doesn't it? – not2savvy Nov 17 '22 at 13:18

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 26 '20 at 10:37

Makefiles have built-in support to ignore errors on a specific command by adding a dash before the command.

rmDocker:
    -docker rm -f CONTAINER_NAME
    @echo "Container removed!"

You'll still see the error message, but the makefile will ignore the error and proceed anyway.

Output:

docker rm -f CONTAINER_NAME
Error: No such container: CONTAINER_NAME
make: [rmDocker] Error 1 (ignored)
Container removed!

Reference: GNU Make Manual

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Aug 08 '22 at 09:17

0

You can add OR true value, as per below:

One Container

docker rm -f CONTAINER_1 || true
Multiple Containers

(docker rm -f CONTAINER_1 || true) && (docker rm -f CONTAINER_2 || true)

answered Aug 08 '22 at 09:17

Jerry Chong

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score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Nov 17 '22 at 13:30

I prefer

docker container inspect CONTAINER_NAME &>/dev/null && docker rm -f CONTAINER_NAME

Solution based on this answer: docker container inspect sets return-code to 1 if container does not exist, else sets it to 0, so docker rm will be executed, too.

score -1 · Answer 5 · answered Mar 20 '21 at 10:59

-1

As an alternative you can run container with docker run --rm. Container will remove itself once stopped.

answered Mar 20 '21 at 10:59

igor

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Stop and remove docker container with force ignore

5 Answers5