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docker

Error response from daemon: device or resource busy

Docker is trying to remove or modify a resource (container, volume, network, or image) that something else is still using. This usually means a container using a volume or network is still running, or a running container is built from the image you're trying to remove.

Common causes

  • Trying to remove a volume that a running container is still using
  • Trying to remove a network that a running container is attached to
  • Removing an image that a running or stopped container was created from
  • Trying to remove a container whose filesystem is still mounted

How to fix it

  1. Stop all containers using the resource first: docker ps to find them, then docker stop CONTAINER_ID
  2. Force remove a container: docker rm -f CONTAINER_ID
  3. Remove all containers using a volume, then remove the volume: docker rm $(docker ps -aq) && docker volume rm VOLUME_NAME
  4. Use docker system prune to safely clean up all unused resources at once

Example

$ docker volume rm myapp_data Error response from daemon: remove myapp_data: volume is in use - [abc123, def456]

Trying to remove a volume that two containers are still using

Related Docker Errors

Cannot connect to Docker daemonPermission denied connecting to Docker socketDocker daemon not running on this hostImage not found or pull access deniedImage manifest not found (tag doesn't exist)

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