Fix Docker error: volume is in use and cannot be removed

Overview

You’ll see this when trying to delete a named volume that one or more containers or services still reference:

Error response from daemon: volume is in use and cannot be removed

The fix is to find what is using the volume, stop/remove it, then remove the volume. This guide covers Docker CLI, Compose, and Swarm.

Quickstart

• Identify which containers reference the volume
• Stop and remove those containers (or bring down the Compose project/service)
• Remove the volume

Minimal commands (replace V with your volume):

# 1) Find referencing containers
docker ps -a --filter volume=V

# 2) Stop and remove them
docker stop $(docker ps -q --filter volume=V) 2>/dev/null || true
docker rm   $(docker ps -aq --filter volume=V) 2>/dev/null || true

# 3) Remove the volume
docker volume rm V

For Compose projects, run from the project directory:

docker compose down -v

Minimal working example

This example reproduces the error and shows the fix.

# compose.yaml
services:
  app:
    image: busybox:1.36
    command: sh -c "echo hello >> /data/log.txt && sleep 300"
    volumes:
      - mydata:/data
volumes:
  mydata:

# Start the service (creates and uses the named volume "mydata")
docker compose up -d

# Attempt to remove the volume while it’s in use
docker volume rm mydata
# => Error response from daemon: volume is in use and cannot be removed

# Correct fix: bring the project down and remove volumes
docker compose down -v

# Now the volume is gone
docker volume ls | grep mydata || echo "mydata removed"

Step-by-step diagnosis and fix

1. Confirm the volume exists and inspect it

• List volumes:

docker volume ls

• Inspect for details (driver, mountpoint, refcount):

docker volume inspect V

1. Find containers referencing the volume

• Via ps filter:

docker ps -a --filter volume=V

• If you know a container, verify its mounts:

docker inspect C | grep -A3 Mounts

1. Stop and remove referencing containers

• Stop and remove by volume filter:

docker stop $(docker ps -q --filter volume=V) 2>/dev/null || true
docker rm   $(docker ps -aq --filter volume=V) 2>/dev/null || true

• As a last resort, force-remove containers:

docker rm -f $(docker ps -aq --filter volume=V) 2>/dev/null || true

1. Remove the volume

docker volume rm V

If your Docker version supports it, a force flag may exist. Use with caution; ensure no needed data remains and understand that containers referencing the removed volume may fail later.

Docker Compose specifics

• Compose often creates project-scoped volume names like projectname_mydata. Confirm the actual name:

docker volume ls | grep mydata

• From the Compose project directory:

docker compose down -v  # removes containers, networks, and named volumes created by this project

• If you created external volumes (external: true), compose down -v will not remove them. Remove them explicitly with docker volume rm.

• Removing only the service without -v leaves volumes intact; they will still be “in use” if containers remain.

Swarm services specifics

Swarm services can hold a volume reference even if no traditional container is visible.

• Identify services that may mount the volume:

docker service ls
# Inspect a service for mounts
docker service inspect S --pretty | sed -n '/Mounts/,$p'

• Temporarily scale down or remove the service:

docker service scale S=0
# or
docker service rm S

• Then remove the volume:

docker volume rm V

Cleaning up anonymous/unused volumes safely

Anonymous volumes accumulate when containers are recreated. To remove volumes not referenced by any container:

docker volume prune
# add -f to skip prompt; consider --filter until=<timestamp> or label filters

Compose can remove project volumes created by it:

docker compose down -v

Common pitfalls

• Wrong volume name: Compose renames volumes with a project prefix. Confirm actual names via docker volume ls.
• Stopped containers still count: A stopped container referencing V still blocks removal. Remove it, don’t just stop it.
• Data loss: Removing a volume deletes its data. Back up first if needed.
• Confusing bind mounts vs named volumes: docker volume rm only applies to named volumes. Bind mounts are host paths; delete the host directory instead (once no container uses it).
• Multiple projects/use-cases: The same named volume can be shared. Ensure all referencing containers/services are removed.

Performance notes

• Use filters to avoid scanning the entire fleet: docker ps -a --filter volume=V is faster and safer than grepping huge lists.
• Prefer targeted cleanup over global prune in busy environments. Volume prune can be slow and disruptive on hosts with many volumes.
• Large volumes delete faster with the local driver (a directory removal), but drivers backed by network storage may take longer. Avoid running mass deletions during peak I/O.

Tiny FAQ

• Why do I still get the error after stopping a container? Because the stopped container still references the volume. Remove the container, then remove the volume.

• How do I see which containers use a volume? docker ps -a --filter volume=V lists them. You can also inspect specific containers for Mounts.

• How do I remove all volumes not in use? docker volume prune removes volumes with no container references.

• Does force-removing a volume affect containers? It can. Containers that referenced the deleted volume may fail to start or behave unexpectedly later. Use it only when you’re certain the data is expendable.

• Where is a local volume’s data on Linux? Usually under /var/lib/docker/volumes/V/_data (implementation-specific). Access only when you know the implications.