Move Docker data directory to new location

The standard data directory used for docker is /var/lib/docker, and since this directory will store all your images, volumes, etc. it can become quite large.

Follow the steps below to move the Docker data directory to a new location. This makes especially sense if you want to avoid running out of disk space on your root partition.

Stop the Docker deamon.

sudo service docker stop

Create a config file /etc/docker/daemon.json

{ 
   "data-root": "/path/to/your/docker" 
}

Copy the current directory to the new directory.

sudo cp -rp /var/lib/docker /path/to/your/docker

Rename the old directory.

sudo mv /var/lib/docker /var/lib/docker.old

Restart the Docker deamon.

sudo service docker start

Test if all services work as expected.

If everything is good, remove the old Docker directory.

sudo rm -rf /var/lib/docker.old