How To Fix “No Space Left On Device” In Docker

Running into a no space left on device error while using Docker can be frustrating — especially when your disk seems fine. This guide explains what causes it, and how to clean up Docker properly with a real example.

The Error

You might see something like this when building or running a container:

failed to copy files: write /var/lib/docker/tmp/...: no space left on device

Or:

no space left on device: unknown

Even worse — it happens during docker build or docker pull.

Why It Happens

Docker uses internal storage for:

• Images
• Containers (even stopped ones)
• Volumes
• Build cache
• Layer diffs

Over time, these build up and consume:

• Disk space (GBs of images)
• Inodes (Linux file system metadata — even if disk space is left!)

How To Fix No Space Left On Device

1. Run Docker System Prune

Clean up unused containers, networks, and dangling images:

docker system prune

Prompted to confirm? Hit y.

To clean everything, including volumes and build cache:

docker system prune -a --volumes

Warning: This removes all unused data, including volumes.

2. Remove Dangling/Unused Images

docker images -f dangling=true
docker rmi $(docker images -f dangling=true -q)

3. Remove Stopped Containers

docker container prune

4. Remove Unused Volumes

docker volume prune

Or list and remove specific ones:

docker volume ls
docker volume rm <volume_name>

5. Clean Build Cache (BuildKit)

If you’re using Docker BuildKit:

docker builder prune

Clean everything (including all caches):

docker builder prune --all

6. Check Disk Usage with Docker

docker system df

This shows:

• Size of images
• Size of containers
• Local volumes
• Build cache

Example output:

TYPE            TOTAL     ACTIVE    SIZE      RECLAIMABLE
Images          18        10        1.281GB   551.7MB (43%)
Containers      32        0         81.99MB   81.99MB (100%)
Local Volumes   2         2         1.569kB   0B (0%)
Build Cache     108       0         352.6MB   352.6MB

On Windows (WSL 2)

If you’re using Docker Desktop on Windows with WSL 2:

1. Open PowerShell:

wsl --list --verbose

2. Check your distro (e.g., docker-desktop-data)

3. Clean WSL disk space:

wsl --shutdown

Then reclaim disk space from:

C:\Users\<YourName>\AppData\Local\Docker

(Or use Disk Cleanup / Docker Desktop → Settings → Resources)

Summary

The “no space left on device” error often creeps up slowly but is quick to fix once you know where to look. With regular pruning and monitoring using docker system df, you can keep your system clean and Docker running smoothly.

This is the end of the How To Fix “No Space Left On Device” In Docker.

You can read more useful articles like Solving DNS Resolution Issues Inside Docker Containers.

Follow us for the more helpful posts!

We hope this is a useful post for you.