Windows cmd docker command piping

Question

I found this instruction on piping commands in Windows CMD:

The "pipe" redirects the output of a program or command to a second program or command.

Syntax:
Command1 | Command2

[Source] (at the very bottom)

Yet docker ps -aq | docker start or any similar combination just returns errors.

The only working combination to start all stopped container works in PowerShell.

docker start $(docker ps -a -q -f "status=exited")

Powershell isn't quite the same as cmd. What errors, exactly, do you get? — vonPryz, Jun 01 '17 at 08:06
Yeap, I understand its just that I do most of my work through CMD, turning on powershell each time I need docker seems cumbersome. I get '"dokcer start" requires at least 1 argument.' -> docker ps -aq | docker start — MattJ, Jun 01 '17 at 10:11
The error message suggests that the docker program does not read from stdin and must have explicit command line parameters specified. — lit, Jun 01 '17 at 13:41

Ansgar Wiechers · Accepted Answer · 2017-06-02T09:09:48.627

6

You can pipe into docker containers (-i), but you can't pipe arguments to the docker command itself.

In PowerShell use a loop for starting a list of stopped containers:

docker ps -a -q -f "status=exited" | ForEach-Object { docker start $_ }

In CMD use a loop for starting a list of stopped containers:

for /f "tokens=*" %i in ('docker ps -a -q -f "status=exited"') do docker start %i

edited Jun 02 '17 at 09:09

answered Jun 01 '17 at 15:30

Ansgar Wiechers

PowerSheel is no problem :) I am looking for a solution in windows CMD. – MattJ Jun 02 '17 at 08:40

1 Answers1