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Keyur Ramoliya
Keyur Ramoliya

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Prune Unused Resources in Docker

Over time, Docker can accumulate unused resources like containers, images, volumes, and networks. These unused resources consume disk space and can make your Docker environment less efficient. To keep your system clean and free up disk space, it's a good practice to regularly prune these resources using Docker's built-in commands.

Here are some useful commands for resource pruning:

  • Prune Unused Containers:
  docker container prune
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  • Prune Unused Images:
  docker image prune
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  • Prune Unused Volumes:
  docker volume prune
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  • Prune Unused Networks:
  docker network prune
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  • Prune All Unused Resources (Containers, Images, Volumes, Networks):
  docker system prune
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Please exercise caution when using these commands, especially the docker system prune command, as it will remove all unused resources, and there's no way to recover them once they are pruned. It's a good practice to periodically run these commands, but be mindful of their potential impact on your Docker environment.

You can also automate resource pruning by setting up a scheduled job or script to run these commands regularly. This helps maintain a clean and efficient Docker environment and can prevent unexpected resource-related issues in the future.

Top comments (6)

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thomasbnt profile image
Thomas Bnt

Started to learn Docker, and great to know that !

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Felipe

I'm also learning docker.

I always recommend using the --help command to check more information.

e.g.: docker container --help

If you prefer, you can search by keywords.
e.g.: docker container | grep stop

anything involving the word "stop" will return.

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Thomas Bnt

Thanks 👍

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Jeremy

I use this all the time. Great for saving space on your Docker hosts.

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Héctor Serrano

Tks

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Bart Reunes

docker system prune will not remove volumes. If you want it to do so, make sure to add the --volumes flag.