Docker disk space on Mac: Docker.raw, images and build cache explained
Docker keeps everything in one large disk image. Here is what fills it, how to see the real numbers, and which parts are safe to remove.
Docker
Why Docker.raw and container images grow on a Mac, and how to reclaim the space safely.
Docker on a Mac keeps its images and containers in one large disk image that grows but rarely shrinks. These articles explain why and how to get the space back safely.
Start here
More in this topic
Docker container logs filling your Mac disk
By default Docker logs never rotate, so a chatty container can fill the disk image. Here is where the logs live and how the documented limits work.
Clean the Docker build cache on Mac
Build cache is safe to clear but not free: the next build runs slower. Here is how to see its size and what the documented prune options do.
Reclaim Docker Desktop space: prune, resize the disk image, reset
Start with pruning, which is cheap to undo. Resizing the disk image and resetting both delete your images and containers. Here is the order and the cost of each.
Colima disk full: check usage and reclaim space
A full Colima disk is usually images, build cache or stopped containers inside the VM. Here is how to look, what to remove, and what the docs say about size.
Docker.raw is huge: what it is and why it does not shrink
Docker.raw is a sparse disk image, so the size Finder shows and the space it really uses can differ a lot. Here is how to tell them apart.