eolas/zk/Docker_volumes.md

tags	created
docker	Sunday, May 04, 2025

Docker volumes

This is a WIP re-write of Docker Storage.

Bind mounts versus named volumes

Mostly when I use Docker in production I am using bind mounts rather than named volumes.

With bind mounts you explicitly map a path on the host to a path within the container. For example, in a Docker Compose:

services:
  rocketchat:
    volumes:
      - /mnt/storagebox_alpha/rocketchat/mongo/db:/data/db

Here, the DB data for the RocketChat container is mapped to a drive in the /mnt directory on the actual server.

When you use bind mounts you do not need to include a volumes section in the Compose file.

In contrast named volumes let Docker manage the storage on the host. You specify a name, but Docker decides where the data is stored. (Typically, this will be in /var/lib/docker/volumes.)

The equivalent to the previous example as a named volume:

services:
  rocketchat:
    volumes: rocketchat-db:/data/db

volumes:
  rocketchat-db: