Docker Cleanup

Quick Commands Reference

docker volume ls

docker volume ls -f dangling=true

docker volume prune

docker ps -a

docker ps -a -f status=exited

docker container prune

docker images -f dangling=true

docker image prune

docker image prune -a

docker system prune

docker system prune --volumes

docker system prune -a --volumes

Troubleshooting Docker Desktop (macOS)

Symptoms of Unresponsive Docker

• Commands hang indefinitely (no output)

• docker info

  or

  docker ps

  never return
• Docker Desktop icon shows running but CLI unresponsive

Diagnostic Steps

1. Check if Docker processes are running:

pgrep -l -f "Docker"

2. Check Docker socket:

ls -la /var/run/docker.sock

3. Test basic connectivity:

docker version 2>&1

Resolution Steps

Restart Docker Desktop (GUI):

1. Click Docker icon in menu bar
2. Select "Restart" or "Quit Docker Desktop"
3. Reopen Docker Desktop
4. Wait for icon to stop animating (fully started)

Restart Docker Desktop (CLI):

# Quit Docker Desktop
osascript -e 'quit app "Docker"'

# Wait a moment
sleep 5

# Reopen Docker Desktop
open -a Docker

# Wait for startup (check with loop)
while ! docker info >/dev/null 2>&1; do
  echo "Waiting for Docker to start..."
  sleep 2
done
echo "Docker is ready"

Factory Reset (last resort):

1. Docker Desktop > Preferences > Reset > Reset to factory defaults
2. Warning: This removes all containers, images, and volumes

VM Issues

If Docker VM is corrupted:

# Stop Docker
osascript -e 'quit app "Docker"'

# Remove Docker VM files (careful!)
rm -rf ~/Library/Containers/com.docker.docker
rm -rf ~/Library/Group\ Containers/group.com.docker

# Restart Docker Desktop
open -a Docker

Cleanup Workflows

Safe Incremental Cleanup

Start conservative, escalate as needed:

# 1. Remove stopped containers
docker container prune -f

# 2. Remove dangling images (untagged)
docker image prune -f

# 3. Remove unused networks
docker network prune -f

# 4. Remove unused volumes (careful - data loss!)
docker volume prune -f

Aggressive Cleanup

For maximum space recovery (destructive):

# Remove everything unused: containers, networks, images, volumes
docker system prune -a --volumes -f

Inspect Before Removing

Check volume usage:

# List volumes with size (requires docker system df)
docker system df -v

# Inspect specific volume
docker volume inspect <volume_name>

Find what's using a volume:

docker ps -a --filter volume=<volume_name>

Check image layers:

docker history <image_name>

Selective Removal

Remove specific volumes:

docker volume rm volume1 volume2

Remove volumes matching pattern:

docker volume ls -q | grep "pattern" | xargs docker volume rm

Remove old containers (stopped > 24h ago):

docker container prune --filter "until=24h"

Remove images older than 7 days:

docker image prune -a --filter "until=168h"

Disk Space Analysis

# Overview of Docker disk usage
docker system df

# Detailed breakdown
docker system df -v

# Find large images
docker images --format "{{.Repository}}:{{.Tag}} {{.Size}}" | sort -k2 -h

Safety Notes

• docker volume prune

  removes all volumes not attached to containers - verify important data is backed up

• -f

  flag skips confirmation prompts - use carefully

• docker system prune -a

  removes all unused images, not just dangling ones
• Running containers and their resources are never affected by prune commands