# Running and Maintaining Docker Deployments

# Ensuring Containers Run at Startup

You can run a Docker container that is downloaded to your system with:

```
docker run --restart=always container-name-or-ID
```

However, to ensure that the Docker Engine *service* runs at startup (which is needed for containers to run), also ensure that said service is *enabled*. Without the Docker Engine service, specifying `--restart=always` is pointless. No docker containers can run without Docker Engine being active on a system, both at startup and during system usage.

On Linux distributions which rely on **systemd** for service management (that is, most of them), you can enable the Docker Engine service to run at startup with the following command:

```
sudo systemctl enable docker
```

If you're not using systemd... you're on your own. Read your boot/service manager's documentation on starting system services.

If Docker is installed properly and the system recognizes "docker.service" as a possible service present on the machine, your device will now run Docker Engine at startup, thus enabling your containers specified with `--restart=always` to run at startup too.