# Apptainer vs Docker cheat-sheet

| Apptainer | Docker | Description |
| -- | -- | -- | 
| apptainer pull docker:// | docker pull | Pull docker image
| apptainer run | docker run | Execute container
| apptainer build | docker build | Build a new container
| apptainer exec | docker exec | Run a command within container
| apptainer shell | docker run -it | Enter into a shell within container
| apptainer instance start | docker run -d | Run container as a service
| apptainer instance stop | docker stop | Stop container
| The Definition file (.def) | Dockerfile | Blueprint to build a container