How to Efficiently Remove Docker Images, Containers, and Volumes?

Docker streamlines application and service packaging into containers, enhancing portability and deployment ease. However, prolonged Docker usage often leads to an accumulation of unused images, containers, and volumes, which can clutter your system and consume valuable disk space.

Thankfully, Docker provides built-in tools to efficiently manage and clean your environment directly from the command line.

This guide will walk you through removing Docker images and other unused resources such as containers and volumes. By following these steps, you’ll master cleaning your Docker environment, reclaiming disk space, and maintaining a well-organized system.

Remove Docker Images, Containers, Volumes, and Networks? (Step-by-Step Guide)

Docker offers a convenient command to remove all unused Docker resources, including containers, volumes, and networks that are not tagged or linked to any container.

docker system prune

The `docker system prune` command clears your Docker environment by removing stopped containers, dangling images, unused volumes, and networks not connected to any containers. By default, it removes only resources that are safe to remove. Using the –all flag expands the cleanup to include all unused images, not just dangling ones.

To remove stopped Docker containers and all unused images (including non-dangling ones), use the -a flag with the command.

docker system prune -a

Removing Docker Images

To remove specific images, start by listing all images, including intermediate layers, using the docker images -a command. This allows you to identify the IDs or tags of the images you wish to delete.

docker images -a

Once you have identified the images, use their ID or tag with the `docker rmi` command to remove them.

docker rmi Image Image

Remove Dangling Docker Images

Dangling images are image layers that are not associated with any tagged images. They are unnecessary and consume disk space.

Building an image without assigning a tag will result in a dangling image. To avoid this, always provide a tag when building an image or add a tag to an existing image later using the `docker tag` command.

You can identify dangling images using the `docker images` command with the -f flag and setting the value to dangling=true. Once confirmed, use the `docker image prune` command to delete them.

docker images -f dangling=true

Now, you can remove those images using the below-given command:

docker image prune

Remove all images

To list all Docker images on your system, use the `docker images` command with the `-a` flag.

docker images -a

To delete all images, add the `-q` flag to display only the image IDs, which can then be passed to the `docker rmi` command for removal.

docker rmi $(docker images -a -q)

Deleting Images Based on a Specific Pattern

To remove images matching a specific pattern, combine the `docker images` command with `grep` to filter the images.

docker images -a | grep "pattern"

Once you have identified the images, use `awk` to extract their IDs and pass them to the `docker rmi` command for deletion. Note that `grep` and `awk` may not be available on all systems.

docker images -a | grep "pattern" | awk '{print $1":"$2}' | xargs docker rmi

Remove Docker Containers

To remove specific containers, use the `docker ps` command with the `-a` flag to list all containers.

docker ps -a

The above command will allow you to find the names or IDs of the containers you want to delete. Now, if you want to delete a container you can delete it using this command:

docker rm ID_or_Name ID_or_Name

Remove a Container After It Exits

To automatically remove a container upon exit, use the `docker run –rm` command when creating the container. This ensures the container is deleted as soon as it finishes running.

docker run --rm image_name

Deleting All Exited Containers

To find containers, use the `docker ps -a` command to show all containers regardless of their status: `created`, `restarting`, `running`, `paused`, or `exited`. To focus on exited containers, apply the -f flag and filter by status.

docker ps -a -f status=exited

Once you’ve confirmed the containers you want to remove, use the -q flag to get their IDs and pass them to the `docker rm` command for deletion.

docker rm $(docker ps -a -f status=exited -q)

Removing Containers Based on a Pattern

You can identify containers matching a specific pattern by combining the `docker ps` command with `grep`.

docker ps -a | grep "pattern”

Once you’ve filtered the containers you want to delete, use `awk` and `xargs` to pass their IDs to the `docker rm` command. Remember that `grep`, `awk`, and `xargs` are not part of Docker and may not be available on all systems.

docker ps -a | grep "pattern" | awk '{print $1}' | xargs docker rm

Removing Containers Using Multiple Filters

You can apply multiple filters in Docker by using the filter flag more than once, each with a different value. This allows you to list containers that meet any of the specified conditions. For example, to remove all containers that are either in the “created” state (which can occur if a container is started with an invalid command) or have exited, you can use two separate filters.

docker ps -a -f status=exited -f status=created

To remove those containers, use this command:

docker rm $(docker ps -a -f status=exited -f status=created -q)

Stop and Delete All Containers

To view all containers on your system, use the `docker ps` command. By adding the `-a` flag, you can see all containers, including stopped ones.

docker ps -a

Once you’re ready to remove them, use the `-q` flag to get the container IDs and pass them to the `docker stop` and `docker rm` commands to stop and delete the containers.

docker stop $(docker ps -a -q)
docker rm $(docker ps -a -q)

Remove Docker Volumes

To find the volume names you want to delete, use the `docker volume ls` command.

docker volume ls

After identifying the volumes, you can remove one or more of them using the `docker volume rm` command.

docker volume rm volume_name volume_name

Remove Docker Container and Its Volume

When creating a container with an unnamed volume, you can simultaneously remove both the container and the volume by using the `-v` flag. This only works for unnamed volumes.

docker rm -v container_name

Once the container is deleted, its ID will be displayed, but there will be no direct mention of the volume removal. If the volume is unnamed, it will be quietly removed. However, if it is named, the volume will remain on the system without being removed.

Removing Dangling Docker Volumes

Volumes are designed to exist independently of containers, so after a container is removed, its associated volume is not automatically deleted. If a volume is no longer attached to any containers, it becomes a dangling volume.

To identify these volumes, use the `docker volume ls` command with a filter to show only dangling volumes.

docker volume ls -f dangling=true

Once you’ve confirmed the list, you can remove all dangling volumes at once using the `docker volume prune` command.

docker volume prune

Conclusion

This guide has highlighted key commands for removing Docker images, containers, and volumes. Each command offers various options and flags for different use cases. For a detailed overview, refer to the Docker documentation for commands like `docker system prune`, `docker rmi`, `docker rm`, and `docker volume rm`. If there are common cleanup tasks you’d like to see covered, feel free to suggest them in the comments.

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