CodewrightConsequence-aware terminal workflows

Clean up unused Docker data

Destructive
What do risk levels mean?
Read-only
Inspects state without changing anything.
Low risk
Reversible with a routine follow-up command.
Medium risk
Changes state; undo path documented.
Destructive
Deletes or overwrites; confirmation required.

Inspects Docker disk usage, then removes unused containers, networks, images, build cache, and anonymous volumes to reclaim local disk space.

dockercleanupdisk

Confirmation required

This recipe is destructive and requires confirmation — confirm you understand the impact before running any command below.

Commands

Inspect Docker disk usage before removing anything

docker system df

Remove all Docker data not referenced by a running container

docker system prune --all --volumes

Verification

docker system df

Reclaimable disk usage is reduced by the cleanup.

Undo

Not undoable

Removed images, anonymous volumes, and their unbacked data cannot be recovered locally.

Pitfalls

  • Unused anonymous volumes are removed and may contain irreplaceable data.
  • Named volumes are retained; pruning them requires a separate docker volume prune --all command.
  • Images needed later must be downloaded or rebuilt again.