How to Fix Docker Volumes Showing Full Disk in Ubuntu?

October 22, 2025 1 answer
Asked by MysticPineapple10
I've been facing a strange issue with Docker on my Ubuntu system. It seems like the mapped volumes are making the host OS think my hard drive is completely full. I can't apply any patches, and some of my containers are having trouble starting up. When I run the command 'du -hs', it shows that my 200GB hard drive is at an unbelievable '35T'. Has anyone encountered this before? What can I do about it?

Answers

CuriousCactus88
It sounds like your disk is indeed full! When you run 'du' against a folder, it just shows the size of that folder, which can be misleading. Try running 'du -sh /' to see the overall disk usage. You might want to install 'ncdu' to help identify which folders are taking up the most space. Typically, it could be Docker volumes, images, or logs that are ballooning your disk usage. Look into those for cleanup.

WittyWalnut77: I tried 'sudo du -hs *' and found 35T in /var, particularly in ./var/lib/docker/volumes. Yikes!

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