Learn how to perform a comprehensive Docker cleanup by removing all images, volumes, and containers, even those in use. Follow these step-by-step instructions, but remember to exercise caution as this process can lead to data loss and service disruption. Safeguard your critical data with backups before proceeding and plan any cleanup operations carefully, especially in production environments.

Removing all images, volumes, and containers, even those in use by Docker, can be a risky operation as it can potentially cause data loss or disrupt running services. However, if you still want to proceed with this action, you can follow these steps.

Note: Be cautious when using the following commands, as they can lead to data loss and may have irreversible effects. Make sure you have backups of critical data before proceeding.

Step 1: Stop and remove all containers

First, you need to stop and remove all running containers. Run the following commands to achieve this:

# Stop all running containers
docker stop $(docker ps -aq)

# Remove all stopped containers
docker rm $(docker ps -aq)

Step 2: Remove all images

Next, you can remove all Docker images with the following command:

docker rmi $(docker images -aq)

Step 3: Remove all volumes

To remove all Docker volumes, you can use the following command:

docker volume rm $(docker volume ls -q)

Step 4: Prune system

Finally, you can use the Docker system prune command to remove any unused data, including containers, images, volumes, and networks.

docker system prune -a --volumes --force

Warning: Be cautious!

Remember that running the above commands will remove all containers, images, and volumes, even those in use. This can cause unintended consequences, including data loss and disruption of services. Make sure you understand the potential consequences before proceeding.

It is highly recommended to backup any important data and configurations before performing these actions. In production environments, you should carefully plan and schedule any clean-up operations to minimize the impact on running services.