Docker Remove Network

📘 Premium Read: Access my best content on Medium member-only articles — deep dives into Java, Spring Boot, Microservices, backend architecture, interview preparation, career advice, and industry-standard best practices.

🎓 Top 15 Udemy Courses (80-90% Discount): My Udemy Courses - Ramesh Fadatare — All my Udemy courses are real-time and project oriented courses.

▶️ Subscribe to My YouTube Channel (176K+ subscribers): Java Guides on YouTube

▶️ For AI, ChatGPT, Web, Tech, and Generative AI, subscribe to another channel: Ramesh Fadatare on YouTube

In this guide, we will see the steps and precautions required to remove Docker Volumes efficiently.

Why Remove Docker Volumes? 

Space Conservation: Unused volumes, especially those with significant data, can occupy substantial disk space. 

Clutter Reduction: Keeping only the necessary volumes ensures a cleaner, more maintainable Docker environment.

Steps to Remove a Docker Volume

1. List Existing Volumes: 

Before removing any volume, it's wise to see a list of all existing volumes:

docker volume ls

Output:

$ docker volume ls
DRIVER              VOLUME NAME
local               my_data_volume
local               another_data_volume

2. Inspect the Volume: 

If you're unsure about the contents or the usage of a volume, inspect it:

docker volume inspect VOLUME_NAME

For example:

$ docker volume inspect my_data_volume
[
    {
        "CreatedAt": "2023-08-15T08:50:12Z",
        "Driver": "local",
        "Labels": {},
        "Mountpoint": "/var/lib/docker/volumes/my_data_volume/_data",
        "Name": "my_data_volume",
        "Options": {},
        "Scope": "local"
    }
]

3. Removing the Volume: 

Once you decided which volume needs removal, execute:

docker volume rm VOLUME_NAME

For example:

$ docker volume rm my_data_volume
my_data_volume

This confirms that the volume named my_data_volume has been removed. 

4. Bulk Volume Cleanup: 

We can remove all the unused volumes with the prune subcommand:

docker volume prune

For example:

$ docker volume prune
WARNING! This will remove all local volumes not used by at least one container.
Are you sure you want to continue? [y/N] y
Deleted Volumes:
another_data_volume

Total reclaimed space: 34MB

This output indicates that the another_data_volume was removed and 34MB of space was reclaimed.

Points of Caution

Data Loss: Removing a volume will permanently delete all its associated data. Always ensure backups if the data is essential. 

Associated Containers: Dockers will prevent the removal of a volume if it is in use by a container. If you face such an error, ensure no container is using the volume before deletion. 

Related Networking Guides

• Docker Create Network
• Docker Remove Network
• Docker List Networks
• Docker Inspect Network
• All Docker Tutorials and Guides