I created a container with -d so it's not interactive.

docker run -d shykes/pybuilder bin/bash

I see that the container has exited:

CONTAINER ID        IMAGE                     COMMAND             CREATED             STATUS                      PORTS               NAMES
d6c45e8cc5f0        shykes/pybuilder:latest   "bin/bash"          41 minutes ago      Exited (0) 2 seconds ago                        clever_bardeen

Now I would like to run occasional commands on the machine and exit. Just to get the response.

I tried to start the machine. I tried attaching. I thought I could call run with a container, but that does not seem to be allowed. Using start just seems to run and then exist quickly.

I'd like to get back into interactive mode after exiting.

I tried:

docker attach d6c45e8cc5f0

But I get:

2014/10/01 22:33:34 You cannot attach to a stopped container, start it first

But if I start it, it exits anyway. Catch 22. I can't win.