Change Docker data directory

daemon rsync

Source

• https://blog.adriel.co.nz/2018/01/25/change-docker-data-directory-in-debian-jessie/

• Stop the docker daemon and ensure no docker process is running

  # systemctl stop docker
  $ ps aux | grep -i docker

• Copy the /var/lib/docker tree to the new location

  # rsync -aPS /var/lib/docker/ /mnt/hdd-tank/docker-data-root

  Be sure to --exclude any locally bind-mounted directories.

• Change the directory in the Docker configuration file (/etc/docker/daemon.json)

  {
    ...
    "data-root": "/mnt/hdd-tank/docker-data-root",
    ...
  }

  Alternatively, create a symlink from /var/lib/docker to the new data directory. In this case no change to the configuration file is required.

• Restart the docker daemon and verify the new location is being used, and that all containers are running as expected

  # systemctl start docker
  $ docker info | grep Docker Root Dir
  $ docker ps -a

• If everything is running smoothly for a few days, remove the /var/lib/docker tree

  # rm -rf /var/lib/docker