Run, Stop, Inspect, and Remove Containers

What you will be able to do

• Distinguish image reference from container identity in a realistic run, stop, inspect, and remove containers case.
• Interpret the operational evidence and boundary associated with runtime state.
• Choose an appropriate action involving inspection evidence without exceeding the named workload scope.
• Verify removal boundary through an observable runtime result and reproducible handoff.

01

Frame Run, Stop, Inspect, and Remove Containers

Control a container deliberately by separating its image reference, container identity, runtime state, inspection evidence, and safe removal boundary.

A support engineer must run a small web container, stop it without losing diagnostic context, inspect why it exited, and remove only the intended instance.

Keep declared state, runtime state, observable evidence, access boundaries, and recovery outcomes separate. Begin with the smallest read-only inspection that identifies the exact image, container, Pod, controller, network, storage object, or policy in scope.

02

Image reference

A run request names the image whose packaged filesystem and defaults seed the new container. Within run, stop, inspect, and remove containers, this role answers one specific container or orchestration question and keeps its own evidence.

Resolve the exact image reference before creating the web instance. Apply that action to the named workload before expanding scope, changing another resource, or discarding the current state.

Respect this boundary: do not infer image identity from the container name alone. The observable result is specific: the created container records the intended image reference.

03

Container identity

Each container has its own identifier, name, configuration, and writable state even when images are shared. Within run, stop, inspect, and remove containers, this role answers one specific container or orchestration question and keeps its own evidence.

Assign a meaningful name and capture the container identifier. Apply that action to the named workload before expanding scope, changing another resource, or discarding the current state.

Respect this boundary: do not target a container by a truncated identifier that is ambiguous. The observable result is specific: name and identifier resolve to one intended container.

04

Runtime state

A container state reflects whether its configured process is created, running, paused, restarting, or exited. Within run, stop, inspect, and remove containers, this role answers one specific container or orchestration question and keeps its own evidence.

List all containers and read the current state before issuing a control action. Apply that action to the named workload before expanding scope, changing another resource, or discarding the current state.

Respect this boundary: do not confuse a missing row in the running-only view with deletion. The observable result is specific: the observed state matches the requested start or stop action.

05

Inspection evidence

Inspection returns structured configuration and state data for the selected container. Within run, stop, inspect, and remove containers, this role answers one specific container or orchestration question and keeps its own evidence.

Inspect the exact container and preserve its exit code and configuration evidence. Apply that action to the named workload before expanding scope, changing another resource, or discarding the current state.

Respect this boundary: do not replace structured inspection with assumptions based only on a short log excerpt. The observable result is specific: the evidence explains which configuration and state belong to the instance.

06

Removal boundary

Removal deletes the container object but does not automatically establish that related images or volumes are safe to delete. Within run, stop, inspect, and remove containers, this role answers one specific container or orchestration question and keeps its own evidence.

Confirm identity and stopped state before removing the named container. Apply that action to the named workload before expanding scope, changing another resource, or discarding the current state.

Respect this boundary: do not combine broad cleanup flags with a single-instance support task. The observable result is specific: only the confirmed disposable container is removed.

07

Apply Run, Stop, Inspect, and Remove Containers to One Workload

Use one bounded workload decision: A support engineer must run a small web container, stop it without losing diagnostic context, inspect why it exited, and remove only the intended instance.

First, resolve the exact image reference before creating the web instance. Then, assign a meaningful name and capture the container identifier. Preserve both observations with the exact resource identity before changing runtime state.

Next, list all containers and read the current state before issuing a control action. After that, inspect the exact container and preserve its exit code and configuration evidence. Close the task only after you confirm identity and stopped state before removing the named container.

08

Recap Before Practice and Prove

Image reference: A run request names the image whose packaged filesystem and defaults seed the new container. In this workload, resolve the exact image reference before creating the web instance. Preserve the boundary: do not infer image identity from the container name alone.

Container identity: Each container has its own identifier, name, configuration, and writable state even when images are shared. In this workload, assign a meaningful name and capture the container identifier. Preserve the boundary: do not target a container by a truncated identifier that is ambiguous.

Runtime state: A container state reflects whether its configured process is created, running, paused, restarting, or exited. In this workload, list all containers and read the current state before issuing a control action. Preserve the boundary: do not confuse a missing row in the running-only view with deletion.

Inspection evidence: Inspection returns structured configuration and state data for the selected container. In this workload, inspect the exact container and preserve its exit code and configuration evidence. Preserve the boundary: do not replace structured inspection with assumptions based only on a short log excerpt.

Removal boundary: Removal deletes the container object but does not automatically establish that related images or volumes are safe to delete. In this workload, confirm identity and stopped state before removing the named container. Preserve the boundary: do not combine broad cleanup flags with a single-instance support task.