Docker Image Cleanup

Overview

Docker images accumulate over time and can consume significant disk space. These commands help safely remove unused images.

Basic Commands

Remove individual images

docker rmi <image-id>
docker rmi <image-name>:<tag>

Remove unused images

# Only dangling images (without tags)
docker image prune

# All unused images
docker image prune -a

# Without confirmation prompt
docker image prune -a -f

Filter by age

# Images older than 24 hours
docker image prune -a --filter "until=24h"

# Images older than 7 days
docker image prune -a --filter "until=168h"

System-wide cleanup

# Images, containers and networks - NO volumes
docker system prune -a

# With automatic confirmation
docker system prune -a -f

Useful checks

# Show disk usage
docker system df

# Show what would be deleted (dry-run)
docker image prune -a --dry-run

Important notes

• Volumes are never deleted with these commands
• Flag -a removes images with tags that are not in use
• Without -a only dangling images are removed
• Running containers and their images remain untouched