Linux Docker Common Errors — Container, Network & Volume Troubleshooting

Overview

Fix common Docker errors including 'no space left on device', 'port already allocated', 'permission denied', DNS failures, and container networking issues.

Key Details

• Docker errors span containers, images, networks, volumes, and the daemon itself
• Storage: Docker uses /var/lib/docker which can fill up with unused images and containers
• Network: Docker creates its own network namespaces and bridge interfaces
• Permissions: Docker daemon runs as root, but container processes may not
• Common errors include exit codes: 0 (success), 1 (app error), 137 (OOM killed), 139 (segfault)

Common Causes

• Docker storage full from accumulated images, containers, and volumes
• Port conflict: host port already in use by another container or service
• DNS not working inside containers (resolv.conf not configured)
• Permission denied when mounting host volumes into containers
• Container OOM killed (exit code 137) due to memory limit

Steps

1. 1Clean up storage: docker system prune -a --volumes (removes ALL unused data)
2. 2Check port usage: docker ps --format '{{.Ports}}' and lsof -i :PORT
3. 3Fix DNS in containers: add --dns=8.8.8.8 to docker run or configure daemon.json
4. 4Fix volume permissions: use -u $(id -u):$(id -g) or set proper ownership inside container
5. 5Check OOM kills: docker inspect CONTAINER --format='{{.State.OOMKilled}}'

Tags

Frequently Asked Questions