Start an existing Docker container

docker start starts an existing stopped container; it does not create a new one:

docker start my-container

Use docker ps -a to find stopped containers. To attach your terminal to its output, add --attach; otherwise the command returns after the container starts. docker start reuses the original image, command, environment, ports, and mounts recorded when the container was created.

If you need different configuration, create a new container with docker run or update the Compose definition and recreate the service. If it starts and exits immediately, inspect:

docker logs my-container
docker inspect --format '{{.State.Status}} {{.State.ExitCode}}' my-container

Do not confuse a stopped container with a stopped Docker engine. A daemon connection error must be fixed at the engine/context level first.

Sources

• docker start CLI reference

• Docker documentation