How to fix Error response from daemon: removal of container is already in progress in Docker

# Wait a moment for the removal to complete
sleep 5

# Check if the container still exists
docker ps -a --filter "name=mycontainer"

# If still there, try removing again
docker rm mycontainer

# Retry removal with backoff
for i in 1 2 3 4 5; do
    docker rm mycontainer 2>/dev/null && break
    echo "Attempt $i failed, waiting..."
    sleep $((i * 2))
done

# List all containers including those being removed
docker ps -a

# Check container details
docker inspect mycontainer

# Look for 'Status' and 'State' in the output
docker inspect --format='{{.State.Status}}' mycontainer

# Force remove by name
docker rm -f mycontainer

# Force remove by container ID
docker rm -f abc123def456

# If that fails, try stopping first then removing
docker stop mycontainer && docker rm mycontainer

# Linux with systemd
sudo systemctl restart docker

# Or using service command
sudo service docker restart

# macOS/Windows Docker Desktop
# Use the Docker Desktop UI to restart, or:
# macOS: killall Docker && open /Applications/Docker.app
# Windows: Restart-Service docker (PowerShell as Admin)

# Check status after restart
docker ps -a

# Try removing again
docker rm mycontainer

# Find what's using the container's overlay filesystem
sudo lsof +D /var/lib/docker/overlay2/

# Or check for processes using container directories
sudo fuser -v /var/lib/docker/containers/<CONTAINER_ID>/

# Look for processes that might be accessing mounted volumes
ps aux | grep -i docker

# WARNING: This is a last resort - can cause data loss
# Stop Docker first
sudo systemctl stop docker

# Remove the container directory
sudo rm -rf /var/lib/docker/containers/<CONTAINER_ID>

# Start Docker
sudo systemctl start docker

# Verify container is gone
docker ps -a

# Check container state before removal
container_state=$(docker inspect --format='{{.State.Status}}' mycontainer 2>/dev/null)

case "$container_state" in
    "running")
        docker stop mycontainer
        docker rm mycontainer
        ;;
    "exited"|"created"|"dead")
        docker rm mycontainer
        ;;
    "removing")
        echo "Container removal already in progress, waiting..."
        while docker ps -a --format '{{.Names}}' | grep -q "^mycontainer$"; do
            sleep 1
        done
        ;;
    *)
        echo "Container does not exist or unknown state"
        ;;
esac

# Ignore removal-in-progress errors during down
docker-compose down 2>&1 | grep -v "removal of container.*already in progress" || true

# Remove orphan containers from changed compose files
docker-compose down --remove-orphans

# Force removal of volumes too
docker-compose down -v --remove-orphans

# Clean up all stopped containers
docker container prune -f

# Nuclear option: remove all containers for this compose project
docker-compose rm -f -s -v