To explore a Docker container’s file system, you can use the following methods.

1. Direct Access to a Running Container

• Run a shell inside the container

docker exec -it <container_name_or_id> /bin/bash

       or use /bin/sh if Bash is unavailable

docker exec -it <container_name_or_id> /bin/sh

• Once inside, you can navigate the file system using typical Linux commands like ls, cd, cat, etc.

2. Inspect Container’s File System Without Running It

• Start the container if it’s stopped

docker start <container_name_or_id>

• Use

docker exec -it <container_name_or_id> /bin/bash

3. Copy Files from the Container

• Use the docker cp command to copy files from the container to your local system.

docker cp <container_name_or_id>:<path_in_container> <local_path>

• Example

docker cp my_container:/etc/passwd ./passwd

4. Explore Using docker diff

• Check for file system changes in the container

docker diff <container_name_or_id>

• This will list added (A), deleted (D), and modified (C) files.

5. Export Container File System

• Export the container’s file system as a tarball

docker export <container_name_or_id> -o container_fs.tar

• Extract and explore the tarball locally

tar -xvf container_fs.tar

6. Mount Container Filesystem

• Use docker commit to save the container as an image

docker commit <container_name_or_id> temp_image

• Run a new container with an interactive shell from this image.