Running Docker Containers Indefinitely

Docker is a well-known platform that is used to build, deploy and share projects. The Docker containerization concept makes Docker stand out among other applications. These containers are a major component of the Docker environment that is widely used to deploy applications. Sometimes a developer wants to execute the Docker container for an indefinite time, maybe for debugging.

This blog will demonstrate the method for running Docker containers indefinitely.

How to Run Docker Containers Indefinitely?

To run the Docker container indefinitely, utilize the command that cannot end or exited. For this purpose, we have provided a complete guide to run a Docker container for an infinite loop.

Step 1: Open Visual Studio Code Editor

First, open the Visual Studio Code Editor from the Windows “Start” menu:

Step 2: Open Project Directory

Create a new Docker file with the name “Dockerfile”:

Paste the provided instructions into “Dockerfile”. The following code will install the required dependencies and execute a simple Python program:

FROM python:3.6

RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \

python3-setuptools \

python3-pip \

python3-dev \

python3-venv \

git \

&& \

apt-get clean && \

rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

EXPOSE 8000

CMD python -c "print('Docker is more simple Deployment Tool')"

Step 4: Create Docker Image

Next, build the Docker image that instructs the Docker container on how to deploy a program. For this purpose, utilize the provided command. Here, the “-t” flag specifies the image name:

$ docker build -t pythonimage .

Step 5: View Docker Images

To verify whether the image is generated, check out the images list:

$ docker images

Step 6: Run Docker Container Indefinitely

Now, run the Docker container indefinitely by executing the never-ending command like this:

$ docker run pythonimage tail -f dev/null

In the above command, we have used the “tail -f” option that will forcefully read the “dev/null” file:

Alternatively, users can utilize the “sleep infinity” to run a container showing nothing. Still, it will be executed for infinite time:

$ docker run pythonimage sleep infinity

Step 7: Check Container Status

To verify if the container keeps running, check the container status. From the below output, you can see that the container is running:

$ docker ps -a

Alternatively, users can utilize the never-ending command in any form while executing the Docker image or by adding a command in Dockerfile as highlighted below:

That was all about running Docker containers indefinitely.

Conclusion

Docker containers can be executed for an infinite time with the help of never-ending commands. To run the Docker container indefinitely, first, create a simple Docker image. Then, execute the “docker run <image-name> tail -f” command or “docker run <image-name> sleep infinity” command. We have demonstrated how to run Docker containers indefinitely.