How to delete a Docker volume?

Keep unused volumes can lead to wasting valuable resources like disk space and computing power. By deleting an unused Docker volume, you improve the efficiency and performance of your container platform.

When should you delete a Docker volume?

A Docker volume is an isolated storage area that can be used by Docker containers to persist files, configurations, logs, or other data throughout the container’s lifecycle. These volumes are independent of container instances and can be easily created, managed and deleted. When you uninstall containers associated with a specific volume and you no longer need the data they contain, it is a good idea to delete the associated volume.

A clean and tidy Docker environment is easier to manage and maintain. By removing unnecessary volumes, you reduce the complexity of your container infrastructure. In environments cloud-basedunused volumes may also result in additional costs. Removing these volumes can therefore help reduce monthly expenses. Additionally, you increase the security of your system, because sensitive data stored in volumes can no longer be accessed after deletion. In particular, this helps you prevent data breaches.

You should, however, keep in mind that deleting Docker volumes must be done carefully to ensure that no important data required by running containers is lost. We recommend that you make backups before deleting a Docker volume. It is also best to include the identification and removal of obsolete volumes during regular maintenance of your Docker infrastructure.

You can find more information about Docker container volumes in this article.

Delete one or more specific volumes

In Docker 1.9 and aboveyou can delete specific volumes using the command docker volume rm. This command allows you to specifically delete named volumes by specifying their name or identifier.

Step 1: List Docker volumes

To start by listing existing Docker volumes, you can run the command docker volume ls in the console. You will output a table containing information about the volumes, including the names and IDs.

Step 2: Delete a Docker Volume

You can now delete selected volumes by entering their name or ID, separated by spaces, following the command docker volume rm.

docker volume rm VOLUME_NAME_OR_ID VOLUME_NAME_OR_ID

It is advisable to verify that the volumes you want to delete are not used by running containersotherwise the operation will irretrievably delete all the data they contain.

Delete an unreferenced Docker volume

Unreferenced Docker volumes are volumes that are no longer associated with containers or services. Deleting these unreferenced volumes can help you free up unused space and improve your management. Docker infrastructure. To delete unreferenced Docker volumes, you can follow the following steps:

Step 1: List Unreferenced Volumes

If you run the following command, you will get a list of unreferenced volumes called dangling on your system. These volumes can then be cleaned or deleted as needed.

docker volume ls -f dangling=true

Step 2: Delete Unreferenced Volumes

The order docker volume prune asks for confirmation before deleting unreferenced volumes. You can confirm with “y” or “yes” if you are sure you want to delete the volumes.

Delete a container and its volume

With the order docker rm -v container_nameyou can delete a Docker container and at the same time delete anonymous (i.e. unnamed) volumes from that container. If you apply the command to a container associated with named volumes, the container will be deleted and all named volumes associated with this container will remain intact. These volumes are always available on your system, can be used by other containers, and retain their custom name. In the case of unnamed volumes, they are irreversibly deleted and the data they contain is lost.

Find out in more detail in another article how to delete a Docker container.

Delete a Docker volume associated with a container

The flag -v stands for « volumes » and is the option you add to the rm command of docker to indicate that the container’s anonymous volumes should also be deleted.

docker rm -v container_name