boot2docker startup script to mount local shared folder with host - windows

I'm running boot2docker 1.3 on Win7.
I want to connect a shared folder.
In the VirtualBox Manager under the image properties->shared folders I've added the folder I've want and named it "c/shared". The "auto-mount" and "make permanent" boxes are checked.
When boot2docker boots, it isn't mounted though. I have to do an additional:
sudo mount -t vboxsf c/shared /c/shared
for it to show up.
Since I need that for every time I'll ever use docker, I'd like that to just run on boot, or just already be there. So I thought if there were some startup script I could add, but I can't seem to find where that would be.
Thanks
EDIT: It's yelling at me about this being a duplicate of Boot2Docker on Mac - Accessing Local Files which is a different question. I wanted to mount a folder that wasn't one of the defaults such as /User on OSX or /c/Users on windows. And I'm specifically asking for startup scripts.

/var/lib/boot2docker/bootlocal.sh fits your need probably, it will be run by initial script /opt/bootscripts.sh
And bootscripts.sh will also put the output into the /var/log/bootlocal.log, see segment below (boot2docker 1.3.1 version)
# Allow local HD customisation
if [ -e /var/lib/boot2docker/bootlocal.sh ]; then
/var/lib/boot2docker/bootlocal.sh > /var/log/bootlocal.log 2>&1 &
fi
One use case for me is
I usually put shared directory as /c/Users/larry/shared, then I add script
#/bin/bash
ln -s /c/Users/larry/shared /home/docker/shared
So each time, I can access ~/shared in boot2docker as the same as in host
see FAQ.md (provided by #KCD)

If using boot2docker (Windows) you should do following:
First create shared folder for boot2docker VM:
"C:/Program Files/Oracle/VirtualBox/VBoxManage" sharedfolder add default -name some_shared_folder -hostpath /c/some/path/on/your/windows/box
#Then make this folder automount
docker-machine ssh
vi /var/lib/boot2docker/profile
Add following at the end of profile file:
sudo mkdir /windows_share
sudo mount -t vboxsf some_shared_folder /windows_share
Restart docker-machine
docker-machine restart
Verify that folder content is visible in boot2docker:
docker-machine ssh
ls -al /windows_share
Now you can mount the folder either using docker run or docker-compose.
Eg:
docker run it --rm --volume /windows_share:/windows_share ubuntu /bin/bash
ls -al /windows_share
If changes in the profile file are lost after VM or Windows restart please do following:
1) Edit file C:\Program Files\Docker Toolbox\start.sh and comment out following line:
#line number 44 (or somewhere around that)
yes | "${DOCKER_MACHINE}" regenerate-certs "${VM}"
#change the line above to:
# yes | "${DOCKER_MACHINE}" regenerate-certs "${VM}"

Thanks for your help with this. An additional few flags I needed to add, in order for the new mount to be accessible by the boot2docker "docker" user:
sudo mount -t vboxsf -o umask=0022,gid=50,uid=1000 Ext-HD /Volumes/Ext-HD

With docker 1.3 you do not need to manually mount anymore. Volumes should work properly as long as the source on the host vm is in your user directory.
https://blog.docker.com/2014/10/docker-1-3-signed-images-process-injection-security-options-mac-shared-directories/

I can't make it work following Larry Cai's instruction. I figured I could make changes to "c:\Program Files\Boot2Docker for Windows\start.sh", add below
eval "$(./boot2docker.exe shellinit 2>/dev/null | sed 's,\\,\\\\,g')"
your mount command
eval "$(./boot2docker ssh 'sudo mount -t vboxsf c/shared /c/shared')"
I also add the command to start my container here.
eval "$(docker start KDP)"

Related

Where should I put input file in docker environment?

I am a newbie in Docker. I introduced the Docker environment in WSL2 (Windows10Home). I do not wish to use the VSCode for simpler implementation. I would like to rather use the Ubuntu terminal. When I try to compile my LaTeX file (my_input.tex) with a Docker image (https://hub.docker.com/r/weichuntsai/texlive-small), but it complains that there is no such a tex file.
docker run --name mylatex -dt -v /home/myname:/home weichuntsai/texlive-small:1.1.0
When I send the following command in the terminal, he complains of no corresponding file.
txrun my_input.tex xelex, although I created this tex file in the home
(~, or home/myname) directory.
Sending ls returns tex.mf only without showing my_input.tex unfortunately.
Sending pwd returns root with some reasons. I have no idea why it returns root, not home/myname.
It may be due to my insufficient understanding of Docker, but I appreciate your kind advice on
that question.
N.B. I became to know that Docker images are located in /var/lib/docker.
To change this directory, one must stop the Docker daemon with
sudo service docker stop. Then one must edit /etc/docker/daemon.json.
{
"data-root": "/to/some/path"
}
Checking Dockerfile of your image shows that working directory is root https://hub.docker.com/r/weichuntsai/texlive-small/dockerfile
Just mount your home to container root:
docker run --name mylatex -dt -v /home/myname:/root weichuntsai/texlive-small:1.1.0
OR inside container change to home by cd /home
Checking Dockerfile of your image shows that working directory is root https://hub.docker.com/r/weichuntsai/texlive-small/dockerfile
Just mount your home to container root:
docker run --name mylatex -dt -v "/home/me":"/file" weichuntsai/texlive-small:1.1.0
OR inside container change to home by cd /home
and then you access your file like
docker exec -it mylatex bash
cd /file
ls

Volume binding using docker compose on Windows

I recently upgraded my Docker Toolbox on Windows 10, and now my volume mounts no longer work. I've tried everything. Here is the current mount path:
volumes:
- C:\Users\Joey\Desktop\backend:/var/www/html
I receive an invalid bind mount error.
Use:
volumes:
- "C:/Users/Joey/Desktop/backend:/var/www/html"
Putting the whole thing in double quotes and using forward slashes worked for me.
I was on windows 10 in windows 10 using Linux containers through WSL2
This answer was from Spenhouet given here.
Share nfs path using docker settings
2. execute following command
docker run --rm -v c:/Users:/data alpine ls /data
Set path in docker compose file as shown below
File copied to windows
I think you have to set COMPOSE_CONVERT_WINDOWS_PATHS=1, see here.
Docker Machine should do it automatically: https://github.com/docker/machine/pull/3830
I faced with same issue (I'm using Docker Desktop).
My steps were:
1) Place your folder under drive "C"
2) Open "Settings" in Docker Desktop -> "Shared Drives" -> "Reset Credentials" -> select drive "C" -> "Apply"
3) Open terminal and run (as proposed by Docker Desktop):
docker run --rm -v c:/Users:/data alpine ls /data
4) Open your docker-compose.yml and update path in -volumes:
volumes:
- /data/YOUR_USERNAME/projects/my_project/jssecacerts:/usr/lib/jvm/java-1.8-openjdk/jre/lib/security/jssecacerts/
5) restart docker container
This solution worked for me, in docker-compose.yml :
volumes:
- c/Users/Cyril/django:/mydjango
(Windows 10 with WSL2 and Docker Desktop)
It seems you are using an absolute path located inside C:\Users dir, that didn't work for me either, and if you are using Docker-Toolbox see below.
Overview
Forwarding the ./ relative path in volumes section will automatically get resolved by docker-compose to the directory containing docker-compose.yml file (for example, if your project is in %UserProfile%/my-project then ./:/var/www/html gets /c/Users/my-name/my-project:/var/www/html).
The problem is that currently (using DockerToolbox-19.03.1) only the /c/Users directory gets shared with the Virtual-Machine (toolbox puts docker itself in the VM, which means it has no access to your file system, except mounted shared-directories).
Conclusion
So, basically placing your project there (C:\Users\YOUR_USER_NAME) should make ./ work.
But not even that worked for me, and we ended up with below _prepare.sh script:
#!/bin/bash
VBoxManage='/c/Program Files/Oracle/VirtualBox/VBoxManage'
# Defines variables for later use.
ROOT=$(dirname $0)
ROOT=$(cd "$ROOT"; pwd)
MACHINE=default
PROJECT_KEY=shared-${ROOT##*/}
# Prepares machine (without calling "docker-machine stop" command).
#
if [ $(docker-machine status $MACHINE 2> /dev/null) = 'Running' ]; then
echo Unmounting volume: $ROOT
eval $(docker-machine env $MACHINE)
docker-compose down
docker-machine ssh $MACHINE <<< '
sudo umount "'$ROOT'";
'
"$VBoxManage" sharedfolder remove $MACHINE --name "$PROJECT_KEY" -transient > /dev/null 2>&1
else
docker-machine start $MACHINE
eval $(docker-machine env $MACHINE)
fi
set -euxo pipefail
"$VBoxManage" sharedfolder add $MACHINE --name "$PROJECT_KEY" --hostpath "$ROOT" -automount -transient
docker-machine ssh $MACHINE <<< '
echo Mounting volume: '$ROOT';
sudo mkdir -p "'$ROOT'";
sudo mount -t vboxsf -o uid=1000,gid=50 "'$PROJECT_KEY'" "'$ROOT'";
'
docker-compose up -d
docker-machine ssh $MACHINE
bash
Usage:
Place a copy of it beside each project's docker-compose.yml file.
Run it each time the system is turned on (simply double-click it or its shortcut).
Done! relative paths should now work even if your project is in another drive (far away and outside of C:\Users dir).
Note:
With a little edit, it should work without docker-compose being required.
Consider running docker system prune to free disk-space (or simply add docker system prune --force to the above script, on a new line right after mount command).
On windows 10, solved the problem with adding the last one / at the end of host and mount path, like that:
volumes:
- '/c/work/vcs/app/docker/i18n/:/usr/app/target/i18n/'
Without adding the last one / mounted path contained some docker system folders and symlinks.
If you're using the new Docker WSL2 backend, some drives may not be mounted in any WSL (and so Docker won't be able to see them either). For example, D: or E: or usb drives. See
https://github.com/docker/for-win/issues/2151
https://superuser.com/questions/1114341/windows-10-ubuntu-bash-shell-how-do-i-mount-other-windows-drives
To rule out this problem, try running docker-compose from a wsl command line.
I solved it by replacing : and '' in the windows path with / at the first of the line.
to be like that:
volumes:
-/c/Users/Joey/Desktop/backend:/var/www/html
Please note: c should be small.

Docker volume located in /tmp on OSX empty

When I try to run a container on OSX (with docker-machine on a Parallels VM) and mount a volume located in /tmp the volume seems empty.
> mkdir -p /tmp/foo/bar
> docker run -ti -v /tmp/foo:/foo ubuntu ls /foo
I expect to see it list bar, however, it's empty. This works:
> mkdir -p /Users/myuser/tmp/foo/bar
> docker run -ti -v /Users/myuser/tmp/foo:/foo ubuntu ls /foo
bar
The same happens with folders created with mktemp which end up in /folders. How can I make docker mount those folders correctly?
This is a well known problem.
The reason behind this is linked to the VM, when it's created it mounts the folders within your Users directory, which makes it the only folder available to the containers.
Here is the similar issue
https://github.com/docker/kitematic/issues/1192
As a workaround, you can simply add the desired location(s) to the underlying VirtualBox machine. If your docker machine is default and you would like to be able to mount external volumes, you can use:
VBoxManager sharedfolder add default --name Volumes --hostpath /Volumes --automount
Afterwards, docker run -v /Volumes/Data:/mnt/Data ls /mnt/Data will work.
It's 2022 and I found myself in the same situation. Additional information that may be useful is: /tmp -> /private/tmp is a symlink (OSX) that may be causing a problem. In docker run command in volumes I replaced /tmp with /private/tmp and it works!

How do I map volume outside C:\Users to container on Windows?

I'm doing server side development and my workspace is located in D: because I'm not a fan of storing data on C: but just can't find a way to map d:\Workspace to /home/workspace
I've tried creating a symblink from C:\Users\username to D:\Workspace by:
map C:\Users\username\Workspace to /home/workspace
Stop container
rename C:\Users\username\Workspace
Create symlink named Workspace to D:\Workspace
Start container
At first Docker worked fine during that session until I restart Boot2Docker, then start the container I'd get "C:\Users\username\Workspace file exists".
I think this is one Docker's issue but anyways I want to map outside C:\Users.
Share workspace between host and Boot2Docker virtual machine
$ boot2docker down
$ cd "C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox"
$ VBoxManage sharedfolder add boot2docker-vm --name mydata --hostpath "D:\Workspace"
$ boot2docker up
Mount shared folder
$ boot2docker ssh 'sudo mkdir -p /data'
$ boot2docker ssh 'sudo mount -t vboxsf -o "defaults,uid=33,gid=33,rw" mydata /data'
Create data-only container. Docker best practices always recommends you use data-only containers. You can reuse already available data-only containers:
$ docker run --volume /data:/data --name mydata dylanlindgren/docker-laravel-data
If you want this change to be permanent, you need to add last command inside startup config file /var/lib/boot2docker/bootlocal.sh
sleep 10 && sudo mount -t vboxsf -o "defaults,uid=33,gid=33,rw" mydata /data
docker start mydata
Then, you will have your workspace mounted at /data
You can find more documentation about VirtualBox Guest Additions in Boot2Docker here.
Updated answer for now, as boot2docker has been deprecated.
The same is now achieved with docker-machine.
The answer is described here: https://github.com/docker/machine/issues/1814
Basically, after mounting the shared folders in the Virtual Box UI, you need to run the following commands in a command prompt:
# Note the extra / at the beginning of the path because of msys/MinGW.
docker-machine.exe ssh default 'sudo mkdir --parents //e/Documents/workspace'
docker-machine.exe ssh default 'sudo mount -t vboxsf e/Documents/workspace //e/Documents/workspace'

How to mount a host directory in a Docker container

I am trying to mount a host directory into a Docker container so that any updates done on the host is reflected into the Docker containers.
Where am I doing something wrong. Here is what I did:
kishore$ cat Dockerfile
FROM ubuntu:trusty
RUN apt-get update
RUN apt-get -y install git curl vim
CMD ["/bin/bash"]
WORKDIR /test_container
VOLUME ["/test_container"]
kishore$ tree
.
├── Dockerfile
└── main_folder
├── tfile1.txt
├── tfile2.txt
├── tfile3.txt
└── tfile4.txt
1 directory, 5 files
kishore$ pwd
/Users/kishore/tdock
kishore$ docker build --tag=k3_s3:latest .
Uploading context 7.168 kB
Uploading context
Step 0 : FROM ubuntu:trusty
---> 99ec81b80c55
Step 1 : RUN apt-get update
---> Using cache
---> 1c7282005040
Step 2 : RUN apt-get -y install git curl vim
---> Using cache
---> aed48634e300
Step 3 : CMD ["/bin/bash"]
---> Running in d081b576878d
---> 65db8df48595
Step 4 : WORKDIR /test_container
---> Running in 5b8d2ccd719d
---> 250369b30e1f
Step 5 : VOLUME ["/test_container"]
---> Running in 72ca332d9809
---> 163deb2b1bc5
Successfully built 163deb2b1bc5
Removing intermediate container b8bfcb071441
Removing intermediate container d081b576878d
Removing intermediate container 5b8d2ccd719d
Removing intermediate container 72ca332d9809
kishore$ docker run -d -v /Users/kishore/main_folder:/test_container k3_s3:latest
c9f9a7e09c54ee1c2cc966f15c963b4af320b5203b8c46689033c1ab8872a0eakishore$ docker run -i -t k3_s3:latest /bin/bash
root#0f17e2313a46:/test_container# ls -al
total 8
drwx------ 2 root root 4096 Apr 29 05:15 .
drwxr-xr-x 66 root root 4096 Apr 29 05:15 ..
root#0f17e2313a46:/test_container# exit
exitkishore$ docker -v
Docker version 0.9.1, build 867b2a9
I don't know how to check boot2docker version
Questions, issues facing:
How do I need to link the main_folder to the test_container folder present inside the docker container?
I need to make this automatically. How do I to do that without really using the run -d -v command?
What happens if the boot2docker crashes? Where are the Docker files stored (apart from Dockerfile)?
There are a couple ways you can do this. The simplest way to do so is to use the dockerfile ADD command like so:
ADD . /path/inside/docker/container
However, any changes made to this directory on the host after building the dockerfile will not show up in the container. This is because when building a container, docker compresses the directory into a .tar and uploads that context into the container permanently.
The second way to do this is the way you attempted, which is to mount a volume. Due to trying to be as portable as possible you cannot map a host directory to a docker container directory within a dockerfile, because the host directory can change depending on which machine you are running on. To map a host directory to a docker container directory you need to use the -v flag when using docker run, e.g.,:
# Run a container using the `alpine` image, mount the `/tmp`
# directory from your host into the `/container/directory`
# directory in your container, and run the `ls` command to
# show the contents of that directory.
docker run \
-v /tmp:/container/directory \
alpine \
ls /container/directory
The user of this question was using Docker version 0.9.1, build 867b2a9, I will give you an answer for docker version >= 17.06.
What you want, keep local directory synchronized within container directory, is accomplished by mounting the volume with type bind. This will bind the source (your system) and the target (at the docker container) directories. It's almost the same as mounting a directory on linux.
According to Docker documentation, the appropriate command to mount is now mount instead of -v. Here's its documentation:
--mount: Consists of multiple key-value pairs, separated by commas. Each key/value pair takes the form of a <key>=<value> tuple. The --mount syntax is more verbose than -v or --volume, but the order of the keys is not significant, and the value of the flag is easier to understand.
The type of the mount, which can be bind, volume, or tmpfs. (We are going to use bind)
The source of the mount. For bind mounts, this is the path to the file or directory on the Docker daemon host. May be specified as source or src.
The destination takes as its value the path where the file or directory will be mounted in the container. May be specified as destination, dst, or target.
So, to mount the the current directory (source) with /test_container (target) we are going to use:
docker run -it --mount src="$(pwd)",target=/test_container,type=bind k3_s3
If these mount parameters have spaces you must put quotes around them. When I know they don't, I would use `pwd` instead:
docker run -it --mount src=`pwd`,target=/test_container,type=bind k3_s3
You will also have to deal with file permission, see this article.
you can use -v option from cli, this facility is not available via Dockerfile
docker run -t -i -v <host_dir>:<container_dir> ubuntu /bin/bash
where host_dir is the directory from host which you want to mount.
you don't need to worry about directory of container if it doesn't exist docker will create it.
If you do any changes in host_dir from host machine (under root privilege) it will be visible to container and vice versa.
2 successive mounts:
I guess many posts here might be using two boot2docker, the reason you don't see anything is that you are mounting a directory from boot2docker, not from your host.
You basically need 2 successive mounts:
the first one to mount a directory from your host to your system
the second to mount the new directory from boot2docker to your container like this:
1) Mount local system on boot2docker
sudo mount -t vboxsf hostfolder /boot2dockerfolder
2) Mount boot2docker file on linux container
docker run -v /boot2dockerfolder:/root/containerfolder -i -t imagename
Then when you ls inside the containerfolder you will see the content of your hostfolder.
Is it possible that you use docker on OS X via boot2docker or something similar.
I've made the same experience - the command is correct but nothing (sensible) is mounted in the container, anyway.
As it turns out - it's already explained in the docker documentation. When you type docker run -v /var/logs/on/host:/var/logs/in/container ... then /var/logs/on/host is actually mapped from the boot2docker VM-image, not your Mac.
You'll have to pipe the shared folder through your VM to your actual host (the Mac in my case).
For those who wants to mount a folder in current directory:
docker run -d --name some-container -v ${PWD}/folder:/var/folder ubuntu
I'm just experimenting with getting my SailsJS app running inside a Docker container to keep my physical machine clean.
I'm using the following command to mount my SailsJS/NodeJS application under /app:
cd my_source_code_folder
docker run -it -p 1337:1337 -v $(pwd):/app my_docker/image_with_nodejs_etc
[UPDATE] As of ~June 2017, Docker for Mac takes care of all the annoying parts of this where you have to mess with VirtualBox. It lets you map basically everything on your local host using the /private prefix. More info here. [/UPDATE]
All the current answers talk about Boot2docker. Since that's now deprecated in favor of docker-machine, this works for docker-machine:
First, ssh into the docker-machine vm and create the folder we'll be mapping to:
docker-machine ssh $MACHINE_NAME "sudo mkdir -p \"$VOL_DIR\""
Now share the folder to VirtualBox:
WORKDIR=$(basename "$VOL_DIR")
vboxmanage sharedfolder add "$MACHINE_NAME" --name "$WORKDIR" --hostpath "$VOL_DIR" --transient
Finally, ssh into the docker-machine again and mount the folder we just shared:
docker-machine ssh $MACHINE_NAME "sudo mount -t vboxsf -o uid=\"$U\",gid=\"$G\" \"$WORKDIR\" \"$VOL_DIR\""
Note: for UID and GID you can basically use whatever integers as long as they're not already taken.
This is tested as of docker-machine 0.4.1 and docker 1.8.3 on OS X El Capitan.
Using command-line :
docker run -it --name <WHATEVER> -p <LOCAL_PORT>:<CONTAINER_PORT> -v <LOCAL_PATH>:<CONTAINER_PATH> -d <IMAGE>:<TAG>
Using docker-compose.yaml :
version: '2'
services:
cms:
image: <IMAGE>:<TAG>
ports:
- <LOCAL_PORT>:<CONTAINER_PORT>
volumes:
- <LOCAL_PATH>:<CONTAINER_PATH>
Assume :
IMAGE: k3_s3
TAG: latest
LOCAL_PORT: 8080
CONTAINER_PORT: 8080
LOCAL_PATH: /volume-to-mount
CONTAINER_PATH: /mnt
Examples :
First create /volume-to-mount. (Skip if exist)
$ mkdir -p /volume-to-mount
docker-compose -f docker-compose.yaml up -d
version: '2'
services:
cms:
image: ghost-cms:latest
ports:
- 8080:8080
volumes:
- /volume-to-mount:/mnt
Verify your container :
docker exec -it CONTAINER_ID ls -la /mnt
docker run -v /host/directory:/container/directory -t IMAGE-NAME /bin/bash
docker run -v /root/shareData:/home/shareData -t kylemanna/openvpn /bin/bash
In my system I've corrected the answer from nhjk, it works flawless when you add the -t flag.
On Mac OS, to mount a folder /Users/<name>/projects/ on your mac at the root of your container:
docker run -it -v /Users/<name>/projects/:/projects <container_name> bash
ls /projects
If the host is windows 10 then instead of forward slash, use backward slash -
docker run -it -p 12001:80 -v c:\Users\C\Desktop\dockerStorage:/root/sketches
Make sure the host drive is shared (C in this case). In my case I got a prompt asking for share permission after running the command above.
For Windows 10 users, it is important to have the mount point inside the C:/Users/ directory. I tried for hours to get this to work. This post helped but it was not obvious at first as the solution for Windows 10 is a comment to an accepted answer. This is how I did it:
docker run -it -p 12001:80 -v //c/Users/C/Desktop/dockerStorage:/root/sketches \
<your-image-here> /bin/bash
Then to test it, you can do echo TEST > hostTest.txt inside your image. You should be able to see this new file in the local host folder at C:/Users/C/Desktop/dockerStorage/.
As of Docker 18-CE, you can use docker run -v /src/path:/container/path to do 2-way binding of a host folder.
There is a major catch here though if you're working with Windows 10/WSL and have Docker-CE for Windows as your host and then docker-ce client tools in WSL. WSL knows about the entire / filesystem while your Windows host only knows about your drives. Inside WSL, you can use /mnt/c/projectpath, but if you try to docker run -v ${PWD}:/projectpath, you will find in the host that /projectpath/ is empty because on the host /mnt means nothing.
If you work from /c/projectpath though and THEN do docker run -v ${PWD}:/projectpath and you WILL find that in the container, /projectpath will reflect /c/projectpath in realtime. There are no errors or any other ways to detect this issue other than seeing empty mounts inside your guest.
You must also be sure to "share the drive" in the Docker for Windows settings.
Jul 2015 update - boot2docker now supports direct mounting. You can use -v /var/logs/on/host:/var/logs/in/container directly from your Mac prompt, without double mounting
I've been having the same issue.
My command line looked like this:
docker run --rm -i --name $NAME -v `pwd`:/sources:z $NAME
The problem was with 'pwd'. So I changed that to $(pwd):
docker run --rm -i --name $NAME -v $(pwd):/sources:z $NAME
How do I link the main_folder to the test_container folder present inside the docker container?
Your command below is correct, unless your on a mac using boot2docker(depending on future updates) in which case you may find the folder empty. See mattes answer for a tutorial on correcting this.
docker run -d -v /Users/kishore/main_folder:/test_container k3_s3:latest
I need to make this run automatically, how to do that without really
using the run -d -v command.
You can't really get away from using these commands, they are intrinsic to the way docker works. You would be best off putting them into a shell script to save you writing them out repeatedly.
What happens if boot2docker crashes? Where are the docker files stored?
If you manage to use the -v arg and reference your host machine then the files will be safe on your host.
If you've used 'docker build -t myimage .' with a Dockerfile then your files will be baked into the image.
Your docker images, i believe, are stored in the boot2docker-vm. I found this out when my images disappeared when i delete the vm from VirtualBox. (Note, i don't know how Virtualbox works, so the images might be still hidden somewhere else, just not visible to docker).
Had the same problem. Found this in the docker documentation:
Note: The host directory is, by its nature, host-dependent. For this reason, you can’t mount a host directory from Dockerfile, the VOLUME instruction does not support passing a host-dir, because built images should be portable. A host directory wouldn’t be available on all potential hosts.
So, mounting a read/write host directory is only possible with the -v parameter in the docker run command, as the other answers point out correctly.
I found that any directory laying under system directive like /var, /usr, /etc could not be mount under the container.
The directive should be at user's space -v switch instructs docker daemon to mount local directory to the container, for example:
docker run -t -d -v /{local}/{path}:/{container}/{path} --name {container_name} {imagename}
Here's an example with a Windows path:
docker run -P -it --name organizr --mount src="/c/Users/MyUserName/AppData/Roaming/DockerConfigs/Organizr",dst=/config,type=bind organizrtools/organizr-v2:latest
As a side note, during all of this hair pulling, having to wrestle with figuring out, and retyping paths over and over and over again, I decided to whip up a small AutoHotkey script to convert a Windows path to a "Docker Windows" formatted path. This way all I have to do is copy any Windows path that I want to use as a mount point to the clipboard, press the "Apps Key" on the keyboard, and it'll format it into a path format that Docker appreciates.
For example:
Copy this to your clipboard:
C:\Users\My PC\AppData\Roaming\DockerConfigs\Organizr
press the Apps Key while the cursor is where you want it on the command-line, and it'll paste this there:
"/c/Users/My PC/AppData/Roaming/DockerConfigs/Organizr"
Saves a lot to time for me. Here it is for anyone else who may find it useful.
; --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
;
; Docker Utility: Convert a Windows Formatted Path to a Docker Formatter Path
; Useful for (example) when mounting Windows volumes via the command-line.
;
; By: J. Scott Elblein
; Version: 1.0
; Date: 2/5/2019
;
; Usage: Cut or Copy the Windows formatted path to the clipboard, press the AppsKey on your keyboard
; (usually right next to the Windows Key), it'll format it into a 'docker path' and enter it
; into the active window. Easy example usage would be to copy your intended volume path via
; Explorer, place the cursor after the "-v" in your Docker command, press the Apps Key and
; then it'll place the formatted path onto the line for you.
;
; TODO:: I may or may not add anything to this depending on needs. Some ideas are:
;
; - Add a tray menu with the ability to do some things, like just replace the unformatted path
; on the clipboard with the formatted one rather than enter it automatically.
; - Add 'smarter' handling so the it first confirms that the clipboard text is even a path in
; the first place. (would need to be able to handle Win + Mac + Linux)
; - Add command-line handling so the script doesn't need to always be in the tray, you could
; just pass the Windows path to the script, have it format it, then paste and close.
; Also, could have it just check for a path on the clipboard upon script startup, if found
; do it's job, then exit the script.
; - Add an 'all-in-one' action, to copy the selected Windows path, and then output the result.
; - Whatever else comes to mind.
;
; --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#NoEnv
SendMode Input
SetWorkingDir %A_ScriptDir%
AppsKey::
; Create a new var, store the current clipboard contents (should be a Windows path)
NewStr := Clipboard
; Rip out the first 2 chars (should be a drive letter and colon) & convert the letter to lowercase
; NOTE: I could probably replace the following 3 lines with a regexreplace, but atm I'm lazy and in a rush.
tmpVar := SubStr(NewStr, 1, 2)
StringLower, tmpVar, tmpVar
; Replace the uppercase drive letter and colon with the lowercase drive letter and colon
NewStr := StrReplace(NewStr, SubStr(NewStr, 1, 2), tmpVar)
; Replace backslashes with forward slashes
NewStr := StrReplace(NewStr, "\", "/")
; Replace all colons with nothing
NewStr := StrReplace(NewStr, ":", "")
; Remove the last char if it's a trailing forward slash
NewStr := RegExReplace(NewStr, "/$")
; Append a leading forward slash if not already there
if RegExMatch(NewStr, "^/") == 0
NewStr := "/" . NewStr
; If there are any spaces in the path ... wrap in double quotes
if RegExMatch(NewStr, " ") > 0
NewStr := """" . NewStr . """"
; Send the result to the active window
SendInput % NewStr
To get this working in Windows 10 I had to open the Docker Settings window from the system tray and go to the Shared Drives section.
I then checked the box next to C. Docker asked for my desktop credentials to gain authorisation to write to my Users folder.
Then I ran the docker container following examples above and also the example on that settings page, attaching to /data in the container.
docker run -v c:/Users/<user.name>/Desktop/dockerStorage:/data -other -options
boot2docker together with VirtualBox Guest Additions
How to mount /Users into boot2docker
https://medium.com/boot2docker-lightweight-linux-for-docker/boot2docker-together-with-virtualbox-guest-additions-da1e3ab2465c
tl;dr Build your own custom boot2docker.iso with VirtualBox Guest
Additions (see link) or download
http://static.dockerfiles.io/boot2docker-v1.0.1-virtualbox-guest-additions-v4.3.12.iso
and save it to ~/.boot2docker/boot2docker.iso.
Note that in Windows you'll have to provide the absolute path.
Host: Windows 10
Container: Tensorflow Notebook
Below worked for me.
docker run -t -i -v D:/projects/:/home/chankeypathak/work -p 8888:8888 jupyter/tensorflow-notebook /bin/bash
i had same issues , i was trying to mount C:\Users\ folder on docker
this is how i did it Docker Toolbox command line
$ docker run -it --name <containername> -v /c/Users:/myVolData <imagename>
You can also do this with Portainer web application for a different visual experience.
First pull the Portainer image:
docker pull portainer/portainer
Then create a volume for Portainer:
docker volume create portainer_data
Also create a Portainer container:
docker run -d -p 8000:8000 -p 9000:9000 --name=portainer --restart=always -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock -v portainer_data:/data portainer/portainer
You will be able to access the web app with your browser at this URL: "http://localhost:9000". At the first login, you will be prompted to set your Portainer admin credentials.
In the web app, follow these menus and buttons: (Container > Add container > Fill settings > Deploy Container)
I had trouble to create a "mount" volume with Portainer and I realized I had to click "bind" when creating my container's volume. Below is an illustration of the volume binding settings that worked for my container creation with a mounted volume binded to the host.
P.S.: I'm using Docker 19.035 and Portainer 1.23.1
I had the same requirement to mount host directory from container and I used volume mount command. But during testing noticed that it's creating files inside container too but after some digging found that they are just symbolic links and actual file system used form host machine.
Quoting from the Official Website:
Make sure you don’t have any previous getting-started containers running.
Run the following command from the app directory.
x86-64 Mac or Linux device:
docker run -dp 3000:3000 \
-w /app -v "$(pwd):/app" \
node:12-alpine \
sh -c "yarn install && yarn run dev"
Windows (PowerShell):
docker run -dp 3000:3000 `
-w /app -v "$(pwd):/app" `
node:12-alpine `
sh -c "yarn install && yarn run dev"
Aple silicon Mac or another ARM64 device:
docker run -dp 3000:3000 \
-w /app -v "$(pwd):/app" \
node:12-alpine \
sh -c "apk add --no-cache python2 g++ make && yarn install && yarn run dev"
Explaining:
dp 3000:3000 - same as before. Run in detached (background) mode and create a port mapping
w /app - sets the “working directory” or the current directory that the command will run from
v "$(pwd):/app" - bind mount the current directory from the host into the /app directory in the container
node:12-alpine - the image to use.
Note that this is the base image for our app from the Dockerfile sh -c "yarn install && yarn run dev" - the command.
We’re starting a shell using sh (alpine doesn’t have bash) and running yarn install to install all dependencies and then running yarn run dev. If we look in the package.json, we’ll see that the dev script is starting nodemon.

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