How to fix Error response from daemon: no space left on device in Docker

Analyze how Docker is consuming disk space:

docker system df

This shows space used by images, containers, local volumes, and build cache. Example output:

TYPE            TOTAL     ACTIVE    SIZE      RECLAIMABLE
Images          25        5         8.5GB     6.2GB (72%)
Containers      10        2         2.1GB     1.8GB (85%)
Local Volumes   15        3         4.3GB     3.9GB (90%)
Build Cache     0         0         5.1GB     5.1GB

For a detailed breakdown of each item:

docker system df -v

Also check host disk space:

df -h /var/lib/docker

The quickest fix is Docker's built-in prune command that removes unused resources:

docker system prune

This removes:
- All stopped containers
- All networks not used by at least one container
- All dangling images (untagged images)
- All dangling build cache

For a more aggressive cleanup that removes ALL unused images (not just dangling):

docker system prune -a

Add -f to skip confirmation:

docker system prune -af

Note: The -a flag will remove all images not associated with a running container. You'll need to re-pull them later.

By default, docker system prune does NOT remove volumes to prevent data loss. Remove unused volumes separately:

docker volume prune

Or include volumes in the system prune:

docker system prune -a --volumes

To see what volumes exist before deleting:

docker volume ls

Warning: Volumes may contain important data like database files. Back up critical volumes before pruning.

Docker BuildKit cache can grow significantly with frequent builds. Clear it with:

docker builder prune

To remove ALL build cache (not just unused entries):

docker builder prune -a

This is especially useful in development environments with many iterative builds.

For targeted cleanup when you need finer control:

Remove stopped containers only:

docker container prune

Remove dangling images only:

docker image prune

Remove ALL unused images:

docker image prune -a

List images sorted by size to identify large ones:

docker images --format "{{.Repository}}:{{.Tag}} {{.Size}}" | sort -k2 -h

Remove specific images:

docker rmi <image_id_or_name>

Remove unused networks:

docker network prune

Container logs can grow unbounded and consume significant space. Configure log rotation in /etc/docker/daemon.json:

{
  "log-driver": "json-file",
  "log-opts": {
    "max-size": "10m",
    "max-file": "3"
  }
}

Then restart Docker:

sudo systemctl restart docker

To immediately truncate logs for a running container:

# Find container ID
docker ps

# Truncate log (requires sudo)
sudo truncate -s 0 /var/lib/docker/containers/<container_id>/<container_id>-json.log

For new containers, you can also specify log options at runtime:

docker run --log-opt max-size=10m --log-opt max-file=3 <image>

Confirm disk space has been recovered:

docker system df
df -h /var/lib/docker

Then retry your original command:

docker run <your_image>
# or
docker-compose up
# or
docker build -t <tag> .

The operation should now complete successfully.