Docker Cleanup Automation

Clean up target: $ARGUMENTS (default: --all)

Step 1: Docker Environment Survey

First, assess the current Docker state:

echo "=== Docker Disk Usage ==="
docker system df

echo ""
echo "=== Running Containers ==="
docker ps --format "table {{.ID}}\t{{.Image}}\t{{.Status}}\t{{.Names}}"

echo ""
echo "=== All Containers (including stopped) ==="
docker ps -a --format "table {{.ID}}\t{{.Image}}\t{{.Status}}\t{{.Names}}"

echo ""
echo "=== Images ==="
docker images --format "table {{.Repository}}\t{{.Tag}}\t{{.Size}}\t{{.CreatedSince}}"

echo ""
echo "=== Dangling Images ==="
docker images -f "dangling=true" --format "table {{.ID}}\t{{.Size}}\t{{.CreatedSince}}"

echo ""
echo "=== Volumes ==="
docker volume ls

echo ""
echo "=== Networks (custom only) ==="
docker network ls --filter type=custom

Step 2: Generate Cleanup Report

Before cleaning, show what WILL be removed:

╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║          DOCKER CLEANUP PREVIEW               ║
╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ Stopped Containers:   [count] ([size])        ║
║ Dangling Images:      [count] ([size])        ║
║ Unused Images:        [count] ([size])        ║
║ Unused Volumes:       [count] ([size])        ║
║ Unused Networks:      [count]                 ║
╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ Total Reclaimable:    [total size]            ║
╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════╝

ASK FOR CONFIRMATION before proceeding with cleanup.

Step 3: Execute Cleanup

Based on the $ARGUMENTS flag:

--all (default) — Full cleanup

echo "=== Removing stopped containers ==="
docker container prune -f

echo ""
echo "=== Removing dangling images ==="
docker image prune -f

echo ""
echo "=== Removing unused images (not referenced by any container) ==="
docker image prune -a -f

echo ""
echo "=== Removing unused volumes ==="
docker volume prune -f

echo ""
echo "=== Removing unused networks ==="
docker network prune -f

echo ""
echo "=== Final disk usage ==="
docker system df

--containers — Only stopped containers

echo "=== Removing stopped containers ==="
docker container prune -f
echo ""
echo "Removed containers. Remaining:"
docker ps -a --format "table {{.ID}}\t{{.Image}}\t{{.Status}}\t{{.Names}}"

--images — Only unused images

echo "=== Removing dangling images ==="
docker image prune -f

echo ""
echo "=== Removing all unused images ==="
docker image prune -a -f

echo ""
echo "Remaining images:"
docker images --format "table {{.Repository}}\t{{.Tag}}\t{{.Size}}"

--volumes — Only unused volumes

echo "=== Removing unused volumes ==="
docker volume prune -f

echo ""
echo "Remaining volumes:"
docker volume ls

--networks — Only unused networks

echo "=== Removing unused networks ==="
docker network prune -f

echo ""
echo "Remaining networks:"
docker network ls

--dangling — Only dangling images (safest)

echo "=== Removing dangling images only ==="
docker image prune -f

echo ""
echo "Remaining images:"
docker images --format "table {{.Repository}}\t{{.Tag}}\t{{.Size}}"

Step 4: Post-Cleanup Summary

╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║          DOCKER CLEANUP COMPLETE              ║
╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ Space Before:    [before size]                ║
║ Space After:     [after size]                 ║
║ Space Freed:     [freed size]                 ║
╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ Containers Removed:  [count]                  ║
║ Images Removed:      [count]                  ║
║ Volumes Removed:     [count]                  ║
║ Networks Removed:    [count]                  ║
╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════╝

Step 5: Recommendations

After cleanup, check:

• Are there containers that keep restarting? (restart loop consuming resources)
• Are there very old images that should be removed from the registry too?
• Should you set up automated cleanup via docker system prune in a cron job?

Suggest a cron job for automated cleanup if not already configured:

# Add to crontab: clean dangling images weekly
# 0 2 * * 0 docker image prune -f >> /var/log/docker-cleanup.log 2>&1