How to fix Error response from daemon: remove myvolume: volume is in use in Docker

First, identify which containers are referencing the volume:

# List all containers (including stopped) using this volume
docker ps -a --filter volume=VOLUME_NAME

# Get just the container names for easier reading
docker ps -a --filter volume=VOLUME_NAME --format "{{.Names}}"

# Alternative: inspect the volume to see mount references
docker volume inspect VOLUME_NAME

Replace VOLUME_NAME with your actual volume name. The --filter volume= flag shows only containers that have this volume mounted.

Note: If docker ps returns nothing but docker ps -a shows containers, those are stopped containers that still hold the reference.

If any containers are still running, stop them first:

# Stop a specific container
docker stop <container_id_or_name>

# Stop all containers using the volume (one-liner)
docker stop $(docker ps -q --filter volume=VOLUME_NAME)

Verify the containers are stopped:

docker ps --filter volume=VOLUME_NAME

This should return an empty list if all containers using the volume are now stopped.

Stopping a container is not enough - you must remove it to release the volume reference:

# Remove a specific container
docker rm <container_id_or_name>

# Remove all containers using the volume
docker rm $(docker ps -a -q --filter volume=VOLUME_NAME)

# Or use container prune to remove all stopped containers
docker container prune

After removing the containers, try deleting the volume again:

docker volume rm VOLUME_NAME

If the volume was created by Docker Compose, use the compose command to clean up properly:

# Navigate to your docker-compose.yml directory first
cd /path/to/your/project

# Stop and remove containers, networks (but not volumes)
docker compose down

# Stop and remove containers AND volumes
docker compose down --volumes
# or
docker compose down -v

Important: You must run this command from the directory containing your docker-compose.yml file, or specify the file with -f.

This is the cleanest way to remove Compose-managed volumes because it handles all the dependencies automatically.

In rare cases, Docker's internal reference counter may be out of sync due to a crash or race condition. Restarting the daemon resets this in-memory state:

# Linux (systemd)
sudo systemctl restart docker

# Linux (service)
sudo service docker restart

# macOS / Windows
# Restart Docker Desktop from the system tray/menu bar

After the daemon restarts, try removing the volume again:

docker volume rm VOLUME_NAME

If this works, it confirms the issue was a stale reference rather than an actual container dependency.

If all else fails, you can manually remove the volume data. This is risky and should only be done when you're certain no containers need the data:

# Find the volume's physical location
docker volume inspect --format '{{ .Mountpoint }}' VOLUME_NAME

# Manually remove the volume directory (Linux only)
sudo rm -rf /var/lib/docker/volumes/VOLUME_NAME

# Restart Docker to refresh its volume list
sudo systemctl restart docker

Warning: This bypasses Docker's safety checks. Only use this when:
- You've verified no containers need this volume
- The volume contains no important data
- Other methods have failed