Docker<\/strong> Today, it is one of the most widely used tools in server management, service deployment, and modern architectures (Microservices \/ CI\/CD \/ Cloud-native). Fill up the server's disk space.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Reduce the speed of Pull and Deploy services<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Increase Build Time<\/p>\n<\/li>\n It can cause performance to decrease and even services to go down.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n In this article, in the form Specialized and technical<\/strong> We will learn how to configure Docker resources as Safe, Purposeful, and Server-Friendly<\/strong> Let's clean up.<\/p>\n On a server, unlike a local development environment, every gigabyte of space and every I\/O operation matters. Example: old builds, previous versions of services, CI\/CD systems that build an image every push.<\/p>\n On servers, stopped containers are usually left over from failed deployments or rollbacks.<\/p>\n If the service is deleted but the volume remains, old data can unintentionally consume server disk space.<\/p>\n This command is the most powerful high-level cleanup tool in Docker.<\/p>\n Unused Images<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Stopped containers<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Unused networks<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Build Cache<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Never in a production environment without checking with Professional suggestion: This command is usually used in cases such as resetting the server or completely rebuilding the registry:<\/p>\n Docker will prevent this if an image that has a running container is deleted. This command should With complete caution.<\/strong> To be used.<\/p>\n This command is usually used when resetting the server:<\/p>\n Never delete containers all at once without checking. Volumes on servers are more dangerous than images because:<\/p>\n If deleted, data is not recoverable.<\/strong><\/p>\n On servers usually:<\/p>\n Databases<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Elastics<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Persistent files<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n They are stored in volumes.<\/p>\n Never prune without ensuring up-to-date usage.<\/strong><\/p>\n If your server does a lot of builds:<\/p>\n Or complete cleanup:<\/p>\n
But on every Server<\/strong>When Docker is used for a long time, it gradually accumulates a large amount of Unnecessary Images, Containers, Volumes, and Networks<\/strong> This accumulation can:<\/p>\n\n
1. The importance of Docker cleanup in server environments<\/h2>\n
The three main things that commonly cause performance degradation on servers are:<\/p>\n1) Unused Image Layers<\/h3>\n
2) Containers removed from orbit<\/h3>\n
3) Orphaned volumes<\/h3>\n
\n2. Complete server cleanup with
docker system prune<\/code><\/h2>\nClean up unused resources:<\/h3>\n
docker system prune<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nDeep clean \u2014 suitable for servers with saturated disk space<\/h3>\n
docker system prune -a<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nItems to be removed:<\/h3>\n
\n
Security tip for servers:<\/h3>\n
-a<\/code> Do not use,
Because an image that is not currently in use, but you need for the next deployment, may be deleted.<\/p>\n
First, check what is being removed:<\/p>\ndocker system df<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n3. Specialized management of Docker images on the server (Docker Images)<\/h2>\n
View all images:<\/h3>\n
docker images -a<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRemove unused (Dangling) images:<\/h3>\n
docker image prune<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nDelete a specific image:<\/h3>\n
docker rmi IMAGE_ID<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nDelete all unused images on a CI\/CD server:<\/h3>\n
docker rmi $(docker images -f \"dangling=true\" -q)<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nDelete all images on the server:<\/h3>\n
docker rmi $(docker images -a -q)<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nImportant note for servers:<\/h3>\n
To force delete:<\/p>\ndocker rmi -f IMAGE_ID<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n4. Removing containers in the server environment<\/h2>\n
Full list of containers:<\/h3>\n
docker ps -a<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nDelete a specific container:<\/h3>\n
docker rm CONTAINER_ID<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRemoving stopped containers (suitable for production):<\/h3>\n
docker rm $(docker ps -a -f status=exited -q)<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nStop and remove all containers:<\/h3>\n
docker stop $(docker ps -a -q) docker rm $(docker ps -a -q)<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nNote for servers:<\/h3>\n
Monitoring, logging, or database containers may be stopped but are essential.<\/p>\n
\n5. Delete Volumes \u2014 The Most Important Source of Server Space Consumption<\/h2>\n
List of volumes:<\/h3>\n
docker volume ls<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nIdentifying Orphan Volumes:<\/h3>\n
docker volume ls -f dangling=true<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nDelete unowned volumes:<\/h3>\n
docker volume prune<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nDelete a specific volume:<\/h3>\n
docker volume rm VOLUME_NAME<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nDelete a volume with a container:<\/h3>\n
docker rm -v CONTAINER_NAME<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nVery important point:<\/h3>\n
\n
\n6. Advanced cleanup for high-traffic servers (CI\/CD, GitLab Runner, Jenkins)<\/h2>\n
Clear Build Cache:<\/h3>\n
docker builder prune<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\ndocker builder prune -a<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nClear all BuildKit resources:<\/h3>\n
docker buildx prune<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n7. Expert comparison of Docker cleanup commands<\/h2>\n
\n\n
\n \nOrder<\/th>\n Cleaning level<\/th>\n Suitable for server<\/th>\n Risk<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n \n docker-rm<\/code><\/td>\nContainers<\/td>\n Medium<\/td>\n Down<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n docker rmi<\/code><\/td>\nPictures<\/td>\n Medium<\/td>\n Medium<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n docker volume rm<\/code><\/td>\nVolumes<\/td>\n Down<\/td>\n Very high<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n docker image prune<\/code><\/td>\nUnused images<\/td>\n Top<\/td>\n Low<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n docker system prune<\/code><\/td>\nAll unused resources<\/td>\n Top<\/td>\n Medium<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n docker system prune -a<\/code><\/td>\nDeep deletion<\/td>\n Emergency only<\/td>\n Top<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n docker builder prune<\/code><\/td>\nBuild cache<\/td>\n Top<\/td>\n Down<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n8. The best Docker server cleanup strategy (DevOps recommendation)<\/h2>\n
\ud83d\udd39 Every day:<\/h3>\n
docker container prune<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\ud83d\udd39 Every week:<\/h3>\n