Where the docker-desktop application puts its volumes on Windows?

Question

I have windows 10 and docker-desktop community version 2.3.0.3 running on my Windows. I created a volume called conan_android_home, I was able to mount it into any docker container, and upon inspecting the volume, got the following information:
{
    "CreatedAt": "2020-07-15T04:57:51Z",
    "Driver": "local",
    "Labels": null,
    "Mountpoint": "/var/lib/docker/volumes/conan_android_home/_data",
    "Name": "conan_android_home",
    "Options": null,
    "Scope": "local"
}

However, I cannot find the mountpoint on my system. I listed the WSL systems created by docker-desktop:
  docker-desktop-data    Running         2
  docker-desktop         Running         2

I cannot start the WSL for the first one, but the second one, there is no directory /var/lib/docker in the running container. And the path is apparently not a Windows path...

Zoredache · Accepted Answer

The file is in the docker-desktop-data but that 'distro' isn't meant to be executed. It is used to hold data, and somehow gets mounted into the correct places automagically.
Because isn't documented, and you can't easily mount or attach that 'distro' this is how I found the file and volume.
First I created a filename I could search for.
# docker volume create foo
# docker run --rm -it -v foo:/foo busybox
/ # cd /foo
/foo # touch myfilename

Over in a powershell console I exported the docker-desktop-data distro.
wsl --export docker-desktop-data foo.tar

Then I switched back to a WSL instanced and inspected the archive.
# cd /mnt/c/Users/zoredache
# tar -tvf foo.tar | grep -i myfilename
-rw-r--r-- 0/0               0 2020-07-22 12:39 ./version-pack-data/community/docker/volumes/foo/_data/myfilename

Where the docker-desktop application puts its volumes on Windows?

One Answer

Add your own answers!

Ask a Question