docker storage ai_generated true

no space left on device

ID: docker/no-space-left

Also available as: JSON · Markdown
88%Fix Rate
90%Confidence
55Evidence
2015-01-01First Seen

Version Compatibility

VersionStatusIntroducedDeprecatedNotes
24 active — — —
24 active — — —

Root Cause

Docker 'no space left on device' on Linux is caused by accumulated images, containers, volumes, and build cache consuming disk space in /var/lib/docker. The fix involves pruning unused Docker objects and potentially moving the Docker data root to a larger partition.

generic

Workarounds

  1. 90% success Run a comprehensive Docker prune including volumes 
    docker system prune -a --volumes --force. The '-a' flag removes all unused images (not just dangling ones), and '--volumes' removes unused volumes. Warning: this removes ALL data in unnamed volumes. Verify no important data is in volumes first with 'docker volume ls'.

    Sources: https://docs.docker.com/reference/cli/docker/system/prune/

  2. 85% success Move Docker's data root to a larger partition 
    Stop Docker: 'sudo systemctl stop docker'. Edit /etc/docker/daemon.json and add: {"data-root": "/mnt/large-disk/docker"}. Copy existing data: 'sudo rsync -aP /var/lib/docker/ /mnt/large-disk/docker/'. Start Docker: 'sudo systemctl start docker'. Verify with 'docker info | grep Root'.

    Sources: https://docs.docker.com/engine/daemon/#daemon-data-directory

  3. 80% success Set up automatic pruning with a cron job or Docker's built-in log rotation 
    Add to crontab: '0 2 * * 0 docker system prune -af --filter "until=168h"' (weekly prune of resources older than 7 days). For log rotation, add to /etc/docker/daemon.json: {"log-driver": "json-file", "log-opts": {"max-size": "10m", "max-file": "3"}}.

    Sources: https://docs.docker.com/engine/logging/configure/

Dead Ends

Common approaches that don't work:

  1. Running 'docker system prune' without the --volumes flag 55% fail

    The default 'docker system prune' does NOT remove volumes. Docker volumes often consume the most space (databases, application data) and are the primary cause of disk exhaustion. Without --volumes, the prune may free little space.

  2. Manually deleting files from /var/lib/docker 90% fail

    The /var/lib/docker directory has a complex internal structure managed by Docker's storage drivers (overlay2, btrfs, etc.). Manually deleting files corrupts Docker's internal state, leading to broken containers, orphaned layers, and potentially an unrecoverable Docker installation.

Error Chain

Frequently confused with: