Remove all Docker containers, images, networks and volumes

Table of Contents

• Modern Approach: docker system prune
• Cleaning up individually
• Bash function for comprehensive cleanup
• Frequently Asked Questions

Modern Approach: docker system prune

Docker provides a built-in command for cleaning up unused resources. The docker system prune command removes all stopped containers, unused networks, dangling images, and build cache:

docker system prune

To also remove all unused images (not just dangling ones) and volumes, add the -a and --volumes flags:

docker system prune -a --volumes

To skip the confirmation prompt, add the -f flag:

docker system prune -a --volumes -f

Cleaning up individually

By using xargs --no-run-if-empty we can prevent Docker trying to stop containers or remove containers, images, networks, or volumes if there are none to remove.

Stop all Docker containers and remove / delete them

docker ps -a -q | xargs --no-run-if-empty docker stop && docker ps -a -q | xargs --no-run-if-empty docker rm

Remove / delete all Docker networks

docker network ls -q | xargs --no-run-if-empty docker network rm

Remove / delete all Docker volumes

docker volume ls -q | xargs --no-run-if-empty docker volume rm

Remove / delete all Docker images

docker images -q -a | xargs --no-run-if-empty docker rmi

Bash function to delete all Docker containers, volumes, networks, and images at once

This function will ask for confirmation before deleting the containers, volumes, and networks, and will ask again for the images (as you may want to keep these for development and not have to re-download them).

You could add this to your .bashrc file (eg. nano ~/.bashrc) so you always have it to use. Remember after adding it to the .bashrc file to source it to load in your changes:

. ~/.bashrc

or

source ~/.bashrc

Here's the Bash function:

rmdocker() {
  read -p $'\e[31mAre you sure you want to delete ALL Docker containers, volumes, and networks? [y/n]\e[0m\n' -n 1 -r
  echo -e "\n"
  if [[ $REPLY =~ ^[Yy]$ ]]
  then
    # Stop all containers
    docker ps -a -q | xargs --no-run-if-empty docker stop

    # Delete all containers
    docker ps -a -q | xargs --no-run-if-empty docker rm

    # Delete all networks
    docker network ls -q | xargs --no-run-if-empty docker network rm

    # Delete all volumes
    docker volume ls -q | xargs --no-run-if-empty docker volume rm

    read -p $'\e[31mAre you sure you want to delete ALL Docker images as well? [y/n]\e[0m\n' -n 1 -r
    echo -e "\n"
    if [[ $REPLY =~ ^[Yy]$ ]]
    then
      # Delete all images
      docker images -q -a | xargs --no-run-if-empty docker rmi
    fi
  fi
}

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this reversible?

No, deleting Docker containers, volumes, and images is permanent. While you can recreate containers from images and re-download images from registries, any data stored in volumes or containers will be permanently lost unless you have backups. Always ensure you have backups of important data before running cleanup commands.

Will this affect running containers?

Yes, the Bash function first stops all running containers before deleting them. If you have critical services running in Docker containers, this will cause downtime. The docker system prune command is safer as it only removes stopped containers by default. Use the docker ps command first to check what's running before proceeding with cleanup.

What's the difference between this and docker system prune?

The docker system prune command is the modern, recommended approach and is safer because it only removes unused resources by default. It won't touch running containers or images that are in use. The manual methods and Bash function shown here are more aggressive and will delete everything, including images you might be actively using. Use docker system prune -a --volumes for most cleanup needs, and only use the comprehensive Bash function when you want to completely reset your Docker environment.