Question: Would like to know via bash script, if current running container was started in `--privileged` mode from **inside** the container (not from the host machine).

For now I'm stuck with passing an env var with the flag but is not an ideal solution.

Answer: 
From the docker host
--------------------

Use the [docker inspect](https://docs.docker.com/engine/reference/commandline/inspect/) command:

```
docker inspect --format='{{.HostConfig.Privileged}}' <container id>

```

And within a bash script you could have a test:

```bash
if [[ $(docker inspect --format='{{.HostConfig.Privileged}}' <container id>) == "false" ]]; then
    echo not privileged
else
    echo privileged
fi

```

From inside the container itself
--------------------------------

You have to try to run a command that requires the [`--privileged`](https://docs.docker.com/engine/reference/run/#/runtime-privilege-and-linux-capabilities) flag and see if it fails

For instance `ip link add dummy0 type dummy` is a command which requires the `--privileged` flag to be successful:

```
$ docker run --rm -it ubuntu ip link add dummy0 type dummy
RTNETLINK answers: Operation not permitted

```

while 

```
$ docker run --rm -it --privileged ubuntu ip link add dummy0 type dummy

```

runs fine.

In a bash script you could do something similar to this: 

```bash
ip link add dummy0 type dummy >/dev/null
if [[ $? -eq 0 ]]; then
    PRIVILEGED=true
    # clean the dummy0 link
    ip link delete dummy0 >/dev/null
else
    PRIVILEGED=false
fi

```
From inside the container, your docker commands (`docker ps` or `docker inspect` or any) will be available if your `docker run` command has `-v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock`