Changing data/image location – Docker.
Well, in some low disk host you may prefer a better, large partition for your Docker base directory. Once you installed Docker, the default data directory is “/var/lib/docker.”
It contains all the data for your docker installation, like all the docker images your built or pulled from the hub.
Common directories under /var/lib/docker
drwx------ 2 root root 4096 Jan 22 22:08 builder/
drwx--x--x 3 root root 4096 Jan 22 22:08 containerd/
drwx------ 5 root root 4096 Jan 23 05:47 containers/
drwx------ 3 root root 4096 Jan 22 22:08 image/
drwxr-x--- 3 root root 4096 Jan 22 22:08 network/
drwx------ 15 root root 4096 Jan 23 05:49 overlay2/
drwx------ 4 root root 4096 Jan 22 22:08 plugins/
drwx------ 2 root root 4096 Jan 23 05:46 runtimes/
drwx------ 2 root root 4096 Jan 22 22:08 swarm/
drwx------ 2 root root 4096 Jan 23 05:49 tmp/
drwx------ 2 root root 4096 Jan 22 22:08 trust/
drwx------ 2 root root 4096 Jan 22 22:08 volumes/
Steps to change the default location.
Step 1. Stop docker daemon.
/etc/init.d/docker stop
Step 2. Make sure that there are no docker related processes.
ps aux|grep docker
Step 3. Move the contents of /var/lib/docker to your new location.
mv /var/lib/docker /home/
Step 4. Create a softlink to default location.
ln -s /home/docker/ /var/lib/docker
Step 5. Start docker daemon.
/etc/init.d/docker start
Step 6. Make sure all the images and data are working from the new location.
That’s it!
1. An introduction note to Docker containers – basics, part 1
2. Managing Docker containers – basics, part 2
