What command would you use to stop a running container?

The command used to stop a running container is "docker stop [container_id]." This command sends a SIGTERM signal to the main process in the container, allowing it to terminate gracefully. If the process does not exit within the default time (10 seconds), Docker will send a SIGKILL signal, forcing the process to terminate immediately.

This approach is preferred because it ensures that the container has the opportunity to clean up resources and shut down properly, rather than being abruptly terminated.

While other commands may sound similar, they either do not exist within Docker's command set or serve different purposes. For example, "docker halt" is not a valid command, "docker terminate" does not exist as an option, and "docker exit" is related to exiting the interactive shell of a container rather than stopping it. Thus, using "docker stop [container_id]" is the correct way to achieve the desired outcome of halting a running container effectively.