WSL2 where is docker volume location?

[dryworld]

• Your Windows build number: (Type ver at a Windows Command Prompt)

Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.18362.175]
Docker version 18.09.6, build 481bc77

• What you're doing and what's happening: (Copy&paste the full set of specific command-line steps necessary to reproduce the behavior, and their output. Include screen shots if that helps demonstrate the problem.)

I installed ubuntu-16.04 at WSL2, and also install docker.
I maked volume by docker command.

docker volume create doc_vol

docker volume ls

DRIVER VOLUME NAME
local doc_vol

• What's wrong / what should be happening instead:

I looking for the mounted location so I execute command next follow

docker volume inspect doc_vol

[
{
"CreatedAt": "2019-06-18T02:11:35Z",
"Driver": "local",
"Labels": {},
"Mountpoint": "/var/lib/docker/volumes/doc_vol/_data",
"Name": "doc_vol",
"Options": {},
"Scope": "local"
}
]

and then checked the location, It's strange result.

ls -l /var/lib/docker/volumes/doc_vol/_data

ls: cannot access '/var/lib/docker/volumes/doc_vol/_data': No such file or directory

I checked the '/var/lib/docker/volumes/' only one file exist.

ls -l /var/lib/docker/volumes/

total 32
-rw------- 1 root root 32768 Jun 18 11:08 metadata.db

where is mounted doc_vol?

[craigloewen-msft]

You need to be using sudo ls to access the volumes in that folder.

caloewen@LOE-WSL:/var/lib/docker$ sudo docker run -d --name=nginxtest --mount source=doc_vol,destination=/usr/share/nginx/html nginx:latest
ec7304a051d3f1564dfa91b4a81538caea236d4b30e0092da90d1737058b145d
caloewen@LOE-WSL:/var/lib/docker$ sudo ls ./volumes/doc_vol/_data
50x.html  index.html
caloewen@LOE-WSL:/var/lib/docker$  

[dryworld]

thanks @mscraigloewen I already root user.
this editor # change to big bold font. :(

anyway previous BIG font has # prompt
also I try as you said 'sudo ls ./volumes/doc_vol/_data' result is
'ls: cannot access '/var/lib/docker/volumes/doc_vol/_data': No such file or directory'

[therealkenc]

There were no takers on the question and no repro to form a WSL actionable. Might get more eyeballs over at Superuser. If you post be sure to include more specifics; I (personally) couldn't follow the ask on this one.

[david-sackstein]

@craigloewen-msft Your answer is incorrect. sudo does not solve the problem because it is not caused by lack of permissions. That path does not exist.

[craigloewen-msft]

@david-sackstein you're totally correct!

From my answer, it seems that I wasn't able to repro the error, which means it could be something specific to your setup. I agree with @therealkenc , as of right now it's hard for us to try and repro this so superuser might be your best choice, or posting more repro steps here for us to try.

Thanks!

[kerams]

With Docker Desktop 2.1.7.0 and WSL 2 (Ubuntu), I can see the volumes at /mnt/wsl/docker-desktop-data/data/docker/volumes. Access requires elevated permissions, so you could do ubuntu.exe config --default-user root before entering wsl.

[Serhioromano]

I do not have this folder as well as var/lib/docker

[vikasedu10]

@Serhioromano, are you using a mac or Windows WSL/WSL2?

[mahmoud-samy]

@kerams Thanks.

From linux: sudo ls /mnt/wsl/docker-desktop-data/data/docker/volumes
From windows: \\wsl$\docker-desktop-data\mnt\wsl\docker-desktop-data\data\docker\volumes

[shashi2k6]

I agree

[PhoenixNest]

Hello guys, i have met this problem as well, but there is nothing in my folder

ubuntu@asdasd:/mnt$ ls
c  d  g  w  wsl  x  y  z
ubuntu@asdasd:/mnt$ cd wsl/
ubuntu@asdasd:/mnt/wsl$ ls
docker-desktop  docker-desktop-bind-mounts  docker-desktop-data
ubuntu@asdasd:/mnt/wsl$ cd docker-desktop-data/
ubuntu@asdasd:/mnt/wsl/docker-desktop-data$ ls
data  isocache  tarcache  version-pack-data
ubuntu@asdasd:/mnt/wsl/docker-desktop-data$ cd data/
ubuntu@asdasd:/mnt/wsl/docker-desktop-data/data$ ls
ubuntu@asdsad:/mnt/wsl/docker-desktop-data/data$ ls -a
.  ..
ubuntu@asdasd:/mnt/wsl/docker-desktop-data/data$ sudo ls -a
.  ..
ubuntu@asdasd:/mnt/wsl/docker-desktop-data/data$ cd ../
ubuntu@asdsad:/mnt/wsl/docker-desktop-data$ ls
data  isocache  tarcache  version-pack-data
ubuntu@asdasd:/mnt/wsl/docker-desktop-data$ cd version-pack-data/
ubuntu@asdsad:/mnt/wsl/docker-desktop-data/version-pack-data$ ls
ubuntu@asdasd:/mnt/wsl/docker-desktop-data/version-pack-data$

[IARI]

same problem as @PhoenixNest .

[Venryx]

For people reading this discussion trying to find where their project's files are being output, from docker image-builds: In my case at least, my project files were not being output to the \\wsl$\docker-desktop-data\version-pack-data\community\docker\volumes folder mentioned above, but rather the \\wsl$\docker-desktop-data\version-pack-data\community\docker\overlay2\XXX\diff folders.

I found this out by using grepWin to search within the \\wsl$\docker-desktop-data\version-pack-data\community\ folder for my project files that I know were included. (I know because I used the docker dive tool to inspect its contents -- but wanted to know the "actual path" since the dive tool takes a while to load)

Screenshot:

[masterflitzer]

you are such a life saver

[haimat]

@mahmoud-samy Thanks for this info.
But how can I find out where Docker Desktop saves this data on the Windows host?

[kerams]

@haimat, it might be in in a VHDX file in C:\Users\_user_\AppData\Local\Docker\wsl\data

[haimat]

@kerams Ohh yes, that's it, thanks a lot!
Now, do you also know whether I can --export & --import both WSL's to another location, or does that confuse Docker Desktop? I know this is not the Docker GitHub repo, but maybe you do know that :-)

[eatcosmos]

maybe will not, because docker communicate with wsl,
then export/import is controled by wsl, wsl know data, wsl provide service for docker, docker need to know things under wsl

[thejacket]

Thanks @mahmoud-samy

So what those paths really mean if they're not referring to host machine? (excerpt from Docker Dashboard, same as CLI's docker volume inspect)

[alexandermalfait]

The key seems to be the "virtual" wsl distro named docker-desktop-data

See https://dev.to/kimcuonthenet/move-docker-desktop-data-distro-out-of-system-drive-4cg2 for solution

[mahmoud-samy]

@haimat @thejacket Sorry for the late reply

AFAIK, when you use WSL integration, two distros will be created for you (docker-desktop & docker-desktop-data)

To reach their file system, you need to access it over network

\\wsl$\docker-desktop
\\wsl$\docker-desktop-data

[dmckee-ebsco]

This is... not simple. I don't know why it's this hard. I found what I was looking for after dropping into wsl session, and using the find command to locate a folder name that I knew...

find /mnt/host/wsl/docker-desktop-data/data/ -name 'jekyll'

[filippzaripov]

I found my volume here:
\\wsl$\docker-desktop-data\version-pack-data\community\docker\volumes

[mozarik]

How to open that and access that file from my default Distros (eg:Ubuntu 20.04) terminal. I tried to run that wsl image wsl -d docker-desktop-data but nothing happen.

[PhoenixNest]

How to open that and access that file from my default Distros (eg:Ubuntu 20.04) terminal. I tried to run that wsl image wsl -d docker-desktop-data but nothing happen.

you can use the “add internet location” in your default windows files manager, and that access to docker

[mozarik]

you can use the “add internet location” in your default windows files manager, and that access to docker

Thanks. After that i have to add the drive using

$ sudo mkdir /mnt/e
$ sudo mount -t drvfs E: /mnt/e

[usister]

It worked! Thank you!

[GabrielFMPinheiro]

It worked! Thank you!

[thejacket]

I just moved to bare metal Ubuntu, solved.

[Serhioromano]

I've read this thread but found no answer. In my porteiner UI I have this for volume.

But when I login to WSL2 it does not has this volume. This path does not exists. I've looked in suggested pass.

My main concern is DB. I have mysql docker image and if I have to reinstall OS I want this volume to be saved with windows file history feature. Or NAS backup. That is why I am looking where actual data is.

[ZealousMacwan]

Did you try this command ?
\\wsl$\docker-desktop-data\version-pack-data\community\docker\volumes

[cveld]

Can anyone from the product team reply to our questions?

• How can we query the wsl2 / docker server / host to get the real location?
• How is this stub location /var/lib/docker being faked?
• Why is the contents only visible from the Windows side?

[swr71999]

Maybe in WSL2 way, data only exists in Windows systems.
When we use WSL2 based engine, Docker Desktop mount "docker.sock" into Linux "/var/run/docker.sock". Linux docker client access to windows docker service.
I find this idea in below link: https://blog.csdn.net/qqhappy8/article/details/106819429

[djl2]

It's been almost 2 years with no clear answer on this issue. Can someone from Microsoft please respond?

[ZealousMacwan]

Try this on your explorer, It works for me.
\\wsl$\docker-desktop-data\version-pack-data\community\docker\volumes

[a26796879]

It works for me too

[sunilgaddi]

yes it works but , but in inspect volume it shows /var/lib/docker/.....

but i dont have docker folder in the lib directory

can anyone help please

[stephen-turner]

Hello everyone, this is a Docker response.

There are several correct answers above about where the files are stored, and you can read them there. However, that is not an official interface, so we don't guarantee it in future. The recommended way to backup volumes is by mounting them into another container as described in our documentation: https://docs.docker.com/storage/volumes/#backup-restore-or-migrate-data-volumes.

We are also considering building some volume manipulation functionality into the Docker Desktop GUI, but we don't have it yet.

[nvRelax]

Prerequisites: wsl2 installed, ubuntu installed

A buddy above talked about how to mount docker's volumes directory into ubuntu so that you can read the contents of these volumes directly in ubuntu. But it's not very clear, so I'll recap what I did.

1. Step 1.

In windows command line, execute the command: net use h: \\wsl$\docker-desktop-data

Where, please replace h: with a drive letter that does not exist on your computer. After this step, you can see a network location in windows explorer

2. Step 2.
   Go to ubuntu and execute the command.

sudo mkdir /mnt/docker
sudo mount -t drvfs h: /mnt/docker

Then you can manipulate docker's volume in the /mnt/my-docker/version-pack-data/community/docker/volumes directory.

[yhslai]

Prerequisites: wsl2 installed, ubuntu installed

A buddy above talked about how to mount docker's volumes directory into ubuntu so that you can read the contents of these volumes directly in ubuntu. But it's not very clear, so I'll recap what I did.

1. Step 1.

In windows command line, execute the command: net use h: \\wsl$\docker-desktop-data

Where, please replace h: with a drive letter that does not exist on your computer. After this step, you can see a network location in windows explorer

1. Step 2.
   Go to ubuntu and execute the command.

sudo mkdir /mnt/docker
sudo mount -t drvfs h: /mnt/docker

Then you can manipulate docker's volume in the /mnt/my-docker/version-pack-data/community/docker/volumes directory.

Omg finally. After literally years, someone found the solution. I don't know what's going on with WSL and Docker's team.

[ducn]

This issue supported now, using this command in wsl:

sudo mount -t drvfs '\\wsl$\docker-desktop-data' /mnt/wsl2

then you can access docker-desktop-data in wsl from /mnt/wsl2

Please refer this document: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/archive/blogs/wsl/file-system-improvements-to-the-windows-subsystem-for-linux.

[ChristianOConnor]

Oh awesome thanks! Glad it's supported now!

[willburden]

I have the same problem as @ChristianOConnor. How did you solve it?

[lyf9528]

thanks so much!!

[thusinh1969]

Follow this git https://github.com/DamionGans/ubuntu-wsl2-systemd-script
Once done, you should be able to install microk8s OK and then full cluster can be created and run well. That is the way I got around.

Steve

[ducn]

Please check answer at #4176 (reply in thread)

[mjunior75]

Hi guys! I have the same problem here and i solved it trying this:

I use Ubuntu 20.04 as a subsystem on WSL 2;
I closed the Ubuntu and opened my Windows PowerShell as administrator and run this command:
wsl --shutdown and it has closed all of my applications running.
I opened my Ubuntu for the second time and as i'm trying to run docker commands such as root or with my user i kept getting errors from daemon;

Then i ran sudo dockerd to start the docker daemon.

It has started docker again and i created a new volume to located on his path, now located on the referenced on the "docker volume inpect" located in: var/lib/docker/volumes.

I hope i can help some of you guys!

[gifflet]

I have found my volumes in \\wsl$\docker-desktop-data\data\docker\volumes

[shrikantpardhi]

Docker version 20.10.+ uses \\wsl$\docker-desktop-data\data\docker\volumes. The previous version used a different directory.

[pavlokolodka]

Hi everyone!

I am using WLS 2 (Ubuntu-18.04, Docker version 20.10.20) and I also encountered this problem.

I found that there are two ways to locate the volume file:
In my case, I needed to save a PostgreSQL volume, so I took it as an example.

If you save your volume as follows -v postgres-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
you can find it as mentioned before \\wsl$\docker-desktop-data\data\docker\volumes
Also, if you are using Docker Desktop, you can see that the Volumes tab has new volume

But if you save your volume with "/" before your volume path, e.g. -v /postgres-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
then your file will be saved in \\wsl$\docker-desktop-data\mnt\wsl\docker-desktop-bind-mounts\Ubuntu-18.04 (folder name is hashed)
also it duplicated in                \\wsl$\Ubuntu-18.04\mnt\wsl\docker-desktop-bind-mounts\Ubuntu-18.04 (folder name is hashed)
and                                         \\wsl$\Ubuntu-18.04 (real folder name)
And in Docker Desktop nothing was created in the Volumes tab

I hope this was helpful.

[AnakinShieh]

I meet the same problem, but I didn't find the corresponding location as yours. It's kind of strange and I guess it's revelant to the windows desktop.

[asimplepeople]

I meet the same problem。

[pedrohfborges]

\wsl$\docker-desktop-data\data\docker\volumes

[sick-pupil]

I find the volumes mount path is '\wsl.localhost\docker-desktop-data\data\docker\volumes', with Docker Desktop 4.18.0

[xhiroga]

To make Docker volumes accessible in WSL2 just like in a default Ubuntu installation, these steps work for me:

1. In your WSL2 Ubuntu terminal, run:

sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/docker
sudo mount -t drvfs '\\wsl.localhost\docker-desktop-data\data\docker' /var/lib/docker

Note: This path is verified with Docker Desktop 4.34.3 (Engine 27.2.0). Older versions might use a different path.

2. Now you can access Docker volumes at /var/lib/docker/volumes, just as you would in a standard Ubuntu installation.
3. To verify the mount was successful, run:

ls /var/lib/docker/volumes
docker volume ls

You should see your Docker volumes listed in both outputs.