Getting “no space left on device” errors with Boot2Docker?

If you're using Boot2Docker with a large number of images, or the images you're working with are very large, your pulls might start failing with "no space left on device" errors when the Boot2Docker volume fills up. There are two solutions you can try.

Solution 1: Add the DiskImage property in boot2docker profile

The boot2docker command reads its configuration from the $BOOT2DOCKER_PROFILE if set, or $BOOT2DOCKER_DIR/profile or $HOME/.boot2docker/profile (on Windows this is %USERPROFILE%/.boot2docker/profile).

1. View the existing configuration, use the boot2docker config command.

   $ boot2docker config
   # boot2docker profile filename: /Users/mary/.boot2docker/profile
   Init = false
   Verbose = false
   Driver = "virtualbox"
   Clobber = true
   ForceUpgradeDownload = false
   SSH = "ssh"
   SSHGen = "ssh-keygen"
   SSHKey = "/Users/mary/.ssh/id_boot2docker"
   VM = "boot2docker-vm"
   Dir = "/Users/mary/.boot2docker"
   ISOURL = "https://api.github.com/repos/boot2docker/boot2docker/releases"
   ISO = "/Users/mary/.boot2docker/boot2docker.iso"
   DiskSize = 20000
   Memory = 2048
   CPUs = 8
   SSHPort = 2022
   DockerPort = 0
   HostIP = "192.168.59.3"
   DHCPIP = "192.168.59.99"
   NetMask = [255, 255, 255, 0]
   LowerIP = "192.168.59.103"
   UpperIP = "192.168.59.254"
   DHCPEnabled = true
   Serial = false
   SerialFile = "/Users/mary/.boot2docker/boot2docker-vm.sock"
   Waittime = 300
   Retries = 75
   

The configuration shows you where boot2docker is looking for the profile file. It also output the settings that are in use.

1. Initialize a default file to customize using boot2docker config > ~/.boot2docker/profile command.

2. Add the following lines to $HOME/.boot2docker/profile:

   # Disk image size in MB
   DiskSize = 50000
   

3. Run the following sequence of commands to restart Boot2Docker with the new settings.

   $ boot2docker poweroff
   $ boot2docker destroy
   $ boot2docker init
   $ boot2docker up
   

Solution 2: Increase the size of boot2docker volume

This solution increases the volume size by first cloning it, then resizing it using a disk partitioning tool. We recommend GParted. The tool comes as a bootable ISO, is a free download, and works well with VirtualBox.

1. Stop Boot2Docker

Issue the command to stop the Boot2Docker VM on the command line:

  $ boot2docker stop

1. Clone the VMDK image to a VDI image

Boot2Docker ships with a VMDK image, which can't be resized by VirtualBox's native tools. We will instead create a VDI volume and clone the VMDK volume to it.

1. Using the command line VirtualBox tools, clone the VMDK image to a VDI image:

   $ vboxmanage clonehd /full/path/to/boot2docker-hd.vmdk /full/path/to/<newVDIimage>.vdi --format VDI --variant Standard
   

2. Resize the VDI volume

Choose a size that will be appropriate for your needs. If you're spinning up a lot of containers, or your containers are particularly large, larger will be better:

  $ vboxmanage modifyhd /full/path/to/<newVDIimage>.vdi --resize <size in MB>

1. Download a disk partitioning tool ISO

To resize the volume, we'll use GParted. Once you've downloaded the tool, add the ISO to the Boot2Docker VM IDE bus. You might need to create the bus before you can add the ISO.

Note: It's important that you choose a partitioning tool that is available as an ISO so that the Boot2Docker VM can be booted with it.

1. Add the new VDI image

In the settings for the Boot2Docker image in VirtualBox, remove the VMDK image from the SATA controller and add the VDI image.

1. Verify the boot order

   In the System settings for the Boot2Docker VM, make sure that CD/DVD is at the top of the Boot Order list.

   

2. Boot to the disk partitioning ISO

Manually start the Boot2Docker VM in VirtualBox, and the disk partitioning ISO should start up. Using GParted, choose the GParted Live (default settings) option. Choose the default keyboard, language, and XWindows settings, and the GParted tool will start up and display the VDI volume you created. Right click on the VDI and choose Resize/Move.

1. Drag the slider representing the volume to the maximum available size.

2. Click Resize/Move followed by Apply.

1. Quit GParted and shut down the VM.

2. Remove the GParted ISO from the IDE controller for the Boot2Docker VM in VirtualBox.

3. Start the Boot2Docker VM

Fire up the Boot2Docker VM manually in VirtualBox. The VM should log in automatically, but if it doesn't, the credentials are docker/tcuser. Using the df -h command, verify that your changes took effect.

You're done!