docker / no-space-left

docker no space left on device — how to fix

Quick Answer

# See how much Docker is using
docker system df

# Remove all stopped containers, unused images, networks, build cache
docker system prune -a

# Also remove unused volumes (data loss risk — check first)
docker system prune -a --volumes

When this happens

ERROR: failed to solve: failed to prepare ...:
write /var/lib/docker/tmp/...: no space left on device

Docker has exhausted disk space. Unused images, stopped containers, and build cache accumulate over time.

Other causes & fixes

Prune selectively (safer)

# Only dangling (untagged) images
docker image prune

# Only stopped containers
docker container prune

# Only build cache
docker builder prune

# Only unused volumes
docker volume prune

Find large images

docker images --format "{{.Repository}}:{{.Tag}}\t{{.Size}}" | sort -k2 -h -r | head -20

Move Docker data directory (Linux)

If the root partition is small, move Docker data to a larger disk.

# /etc/docker/daemon.json
{
  "data-root": "/mnt/docker-data"
}
# Then: sudo systemctl restart docker

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