"Persisting Data in Docker: A Comprehensive Guide with Commands and Examples"

Persisting data in Docker is crucial for ensuring that your data is not lost when containers are stopped or removed. This can be achieved using Docker volumes or bind mounts. Here’s a guide on how to persist data in Docker, along with some essential commands.
Written by teamember02
Updated 6 months ago

Creating and Using a Volume

Create a Volume:

  docker volume create my_volume

Run a Container with the Volume:

  docker run -d -v my_volume:/data --name my_container my_image

In this command, my_volume is mounted to /data inside the container.

Inspect the Volume:

docker volume inspect my_volume

Remove a Volume:

docker volume rm my_volume

Note: Volumes are not automatically removed when you remove a container. You need to clean them up manually.

Using Bind Mounts

Bind mounts can be used when you want to persist data in a specific location on the host filesystem.

Running a Container with a Bind Mount

Run a Container with a Bind Mount:

docker run -d -v /path/on/host:/data --name my_container my_image

Common Docker Commands

Here are some common Docker commands related to volumes and bind mounts:

Listing Volumes:

docker volume ls

Inspecting a Volume:

docker volume inspect my_volume

Removing a Volume:

docker volume rm my_volume

Removing All Unused Volumes:

docker volume prune

Summary

Persisting data in Docker can be effectively managed using volumes and bind mounts. Volumes are typically the preferred method due to their ease of use and flexibility, but bind mounts are useful when you need to work with specific directories on the host filesystem. By using the commands and

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