Error: No such container

The "No such container" error reveals the difference between a stopped container and a removed container — a distinction that confuses developers new to Docker. docker stop container-name stops the container process but keeps the container filesystem layer and metadata: the container appears in docker ps -a with status Exited. docker rm container-name removes the container entirely — after which it no longer appears in any docker ps output. A common scenario: a developer stops a container to free ports, returns the next day, and runs docker exec container-name bash — which fails because exec only works on running containers. The container still exists but is stopped. docker start container-name restarts it, then exec works. The --rm flag in docker run --rm automatically removes the container when it exits — ideal for one-off task containers but means docker logs container-name fails afterwards. For containers you need to inspect after stopping, omit --rm and remove manually with docker rm after reviewing logs. Docker Compose services created with docker-compose up remain as stopped containers until docker-compose down (which removes them). docker-compose start and docker-compose stop only manage the process state without creating or removing containers.