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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/Finsys/dockhand/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

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Overview

The Volumes page provides comprehensive management of Docker volumes for persistent container data. It includes volume creation, file browsing, backup/restore operations, and cloning functionality to duplicate volume data.

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Key Features

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Volume Management

  • Named Volumes: Create and manage named volumes
  • Driver Support: Local driver and third-party volume plugins
  • Usage Tracking: See which containers are using each volume
  • Stack Integration: Volumes linked to Docker Compose stacks
  • Size Information: (If supported by driver)

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Volume Operations

Create Volumes:
  • Specify volume name
  • Select driver (local or plugin)
  • Configure driver options
  • Add labels for organization
Volume Actions:
  • Inspect volume details (configuration, mount point)
  • Browse volume files with web-based file manager
  • Export volume data as TAR/TAR.GZ
  • Clone volume to create duplicate with same data
  • Remove volumes (with protection for in-use volumes)
Bulk Operations:
  • Select multiple volumes
  • Bulk removal of unused volumes
  • Prune unused volumes

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File Browser

Browse Volume Contents:
  • Navigate directory structure
  • View file metadata (size, permissions, modified date)
  • Preview file contents
  • Download individual files
  • Upload files to volume
  • Edit text files in-browser
  • Create directories
  • Delete files and folders
Supported Operations:
  • Upload files via drag-and-drop or file picker
  • Download files to local machine
  • Edit text files with syntax highlighting
  • Delete files with confirmation
  • Rename files and directories

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Backup and Restore

Export Volume:
  • Export entire volume as archive
  • Format: TAR or TAR.GZ (configurable)
  • Downloads directly to browser
  • Preserves file permissions and metadata
Clone Volume:
  • Create exact copy of volume
  • Includes all files and directory structure
  • Preserves permissions and ownership
  • Uses temporary container for data transfer
  • Progress tracking during clone operation
  • Text Search: Filter by volume name or stack name
  • Driver Filter: Multi-select for volume drivers
  • Usage Filter: Show all, in-use, or unused volumes
  • Persistent Filters: Saved to local storage
  • Sortable Columns: Sort by name, driver, stack, created date

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UI Features

Volume Table:
  • Expandable rows (if needed in future)
  • Status indicators
  • Container usage display
  • Quick action buttons
  • Highlight row on click
Usage Display:
  • Clickable container names
  • Opens container inspect modal
  • Shows all containers using the volume
  • Displays mount path in container

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How to Use

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Creating a Volume

  1. Click the Create button
  2. Configure Volume:
    • Enter unique volume name
    • Select driver (default: local)
  3. Driver Options (optional):
    • For local driver:
      • type: Type of mount (e.g., nfs, tmpfs)
      • device: Device or remote path
      • o: Mount options
    • For plugin drivers: Plugin-specific options
  4. Labels (optional):
    • Add custom labels for organization
    • Format: key=value
  5. Click Create to create the volume

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Browsing Volume Files

  1. Click the Folder icon on a volume row
  2. File Browser Opens:
    • Shows directory tree
    • Lists files with details
  3. Navigate Directories:
    • Click folder names to enter
    • Use breadcrumb to navigate up
  4. File Operations:
    • Click file to preview (text files)
    • Click download icon to save locally
    • Click edit icon to modify text files
    • Click delete icon to remove files
  5. Upload Files:
    • Click “Upload” button
    • Select files from file picker
    • Or drag and drop files
  6. Close browser when done

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Exporting a Volume

  1. Click the Download icon on a volume row
  2. Volume exports in background
  3. Archive downloads automatically
  4. Format based on global setting (TAR or TAR.GZ)
  5. Extract archive on local machine to restore data

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Cloning a Volume

  1. Click the Clone icon (stamp icon) on a volume row
  2. Configure Clone:
    • Enter name for new volume
    • Original volume name shown for reference
  3. Click Clone to start
  4. Clone Process:
    • Creates new empty volume
    • Starts temporary container
    • Mounts both volumes
    • Copies all data
    • Removes temporary container
  5. Progress bar shows status
  6. New volume appears in list when complete

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Inspecting Volume Details

  1. Click the Eye icon on a volume row
  2. Volume Information:
    • Volume name
    • Driver
    • Mount point on host
    • Created timestamp
    • Labels
    • Options
    • Scope
  3. Copy any value to clipboard
  4. View JSON representation

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Removing Volumes

Single Volume:
  1. Click the Remove icon
  2. Confirm deletion
  3. Volume is removed from Docker
  4. Note: In-use volumes cannot be removed
Multiple Volumes:
  1. Select volumes using checkboxes
  2. Click Delete in selection bar
  3. Confirm bulk deletion
  4. Unused volumes are removed
Prune Unused:
  1. Click Prune button
  2. Confirms removal of all unused volumes
  3. Volumes not mounted by any container are removed

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UI Walkthrough

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Header Section

  • Title: “Volumes” with total count
  • Search Bar: Filter by volume name or stack
  • Driver Filter: Multi-select dropdown
  • Usage Filter: All / In use / Unused
  • Prune Button: Remove unused volumes
  • Refresh: Manually refresh volume list
  • Create Button: Open volume creation modal

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Selection Bar

Appears when volumes are selected:
  • Number of selected volumes
  • Clear: Deselect all volumes
  • Delete: Remove selected volumes (only unused)

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Volume Table

Columns:
  • Checkbox: Select for bulk operations
  • Name: Volume name (monospace font)
  • Driver: Driver type badge
  • Scope: Local/global
  • Stack: Compose project name (if applicable)
  • Used By: Container names (clickable)
  • Created: Timestamp
  • Actions: Quick action buttons
Action Icons:
  • Eye: View volume details
  • Folder: Browse files in volume
  • Download: Export volume data
  • Stamp: Clone volume
  • Remove: Delete volume (only if unused)

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File Browser Modal

Header:
  • Volume name
  • Current path breadcrumb
  • Upload button
  • Close button
File List:
  • Icon for type (folder/file)
  • File name
  • Size
  • Modified date
  • Permissions
  • Actions (download, edit, delete)
Navigation:
  • Click folders to enter
  • Click breadcrumb to go up
  • Back button

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Volume Details Modal

Sections:
  1. Overview:
    • Volume name
    • Driver
    • Scope
    • Created timestamp
  2. Mount Point:
    • Host path (if local driver)
    • Device (if network driver)
  3. Driver Options:
    • Key-value pairs
    • Custom configuration
  4. Labels:
    • User labels
    • System labels (stack, etc.)
  5. Usage:
    • Connected containers
    • Mount paths in containers

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Real Examples

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Example: Database Volume

Volume Configuration:
Name: postgres-data
Driver: local
Scope: local

Used By:
  - postgres-db (mounted at /var/lib/postgresql/data)

Purpose:
  Persistent storage for PostgreSQL database
  Survives container removal
  Can be backed up and restored

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Example: NFS Volume

Volume Configuration:
Name: shared-storage
Driver: local
Scope: local

Driver Options:
  type: nfs
  device: :/data/shared
  o: addr=192.168.1.100,rw,nfsvers=4

Used By:
  - app-server-1 (mounted at /app/uploads)
  - app-server-2 (mounted at /app/uploads)
  - app-server-3 (mounted at /app/uploads)

Purpose:
  Shared file storage across multiple containers
  All containers access same files
  NFS server provides high availability

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Example: Backup Volume

Volume Configuration:
Name: backup-data
Driver: local
Scope: local

Used By:
  - backup-service (mounted at /backups)

Labels:
  app: backup
  tier: storage
  retention: 30-days

Purpose:
  Store database backups
  Mounted by backup service
  Exported weekly for offsite storage

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Example: Tmpfs Volume

Volume Configuration:
Name: temp-cache
Driver: local
Scope: local

Driver Options:
  type: tmpfs
  device: tmpfs
  o: size=1G,mode=1777

Used By:
  - cache-service (mounted at /tmp/cache)

Purpose:
  Fast in-memory storage
  Data lost on container stop
  Good for temporary cache

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Example: Clone Operation

Original Volume: prod-data (5.2 GB)
New Volume: prod-data-backup

Clone Process:
1. Create empty volume: prod-data-backup
2. Start temporary container with both volumes mounted:
   - /source: prod-data (read-only)
   - /dest: prod-data-backup (read-write)
3. Copy all data: cp -a /source/. /dest/
4. Verify copy completed
5. Remove temporary container
6. New volume ready with identical data

Duration: ~2 minutes for 5.2 GB

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Database Schema

Volumes are managed through the Docker API and don’t have persistent storage in Dockhand’s database, except for tracking usage relationships. Docker API Response includes:
  • Volume name
  • Driver
  • Mount point
  • Created timestamp
  • Labels
  • Options
  • Scope
Tracked in Containers:
  • Mount information links volumes to containers
  • Source volume name
  • Destination path in container
  • Read-only flag

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Technical Details

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Volume Drivers

Local Driver:
  • Default driver
  • Stores data on Docker host
  • Supports bind mounts, tmpfs, and NFS
  • Configured via driver options
Third-Party Plugins:
  • Network-attached storage (NAS)
  • Cloud storage (AWS EBS, Azure Disk)
  • Distributed storage (GlusterFS, Ceph)
  • Installed separately

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File Browser Implementation

Backend:
  • Temporary container with volume mounted
  • Uses BusyBox or Alpine image
  • File operations via container exec
  • Streams files for upload/download
Frontend:
  • Tree view for directory navigation
  • Lazy loading for large directories
  • Monaco editor for file editing
  • Drag-and-drop upload support

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Clone Operation

Process:
  1. Create destination volume
  2. Start ephemeral container:
    • Mounts source volume (read-only)
    • Mounts destination volume (read-write)
  3. Execute copy command: cp -a /source/. /dest/
  4. Monitor progress (if supported)
  5. Remove container
  6. Verify destination volume
Performance:
  • Copy speed depends on data size and disk I/O
  • Uses Docker host’s filesystem cache
  • No network overhead (both volumes on same host)

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Export Operation

Process:
  1. Start temporary container with volume mounted
  2. Create TAR archive: tar -czf /tmp/backup.tar.gz -C /data .
  3. Stream archive to client
  4. Remove container

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API Endpoints

  • GET /api/volumes - List all volumes
  • POST /api/volumes - Create volume
  • GET /api/volumes/:name - Get volume details
  • DELETE /api/volumes/:name - Remove volume
  • GET /api/volumes/:name/browse - List files in volume
  • GET /api/volumes/:name/export - Export volume as archive
  • POST /api/volumes/:name/clone - Clone volume
  • POST /api/volumes/:name/upload - Upload file to volume
  • GET /api/volumes/:name/download - Download file from volume
  • DELETE /api/volumes/:name/files - Delete file in volume
  • POST /api/prune/volumes - Prune unused volumes