Uninstall Docker on Ubuntu

Docker is one of the most widely used containerization platforms. But there may come a time when you need to remove Docker from your system, maybe to free up space, switch to another version, or perform a clean reinstallation.

Step 1: Stop Running Containers

Before removing Docker, it’s recommended to stop all running containers:

docker container stop $(docker container ls -aq)

docker container stop $(docker container ls -aq)

This ensures no container processes interfere with the uninstall.

Step 2: Remove Docker Containers, Images, and Volumes

To free up space, remove unused containers, images, networks, and volumes:

docker system prune -a --volumes

docker system prune -a --volumes

• -a removes all unused images.
• --volumes removes all volumes.

⚠️ Warning: This deletes all Docker data permanently.

Step 3: Uninstall Docker Packages

Remove the Docker packages installed on your system:

sudo apt purge docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin docker-ce-rootless-extras -y

sudo apt purge docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin docker-ce-rootless-extras -y

Step 4: Remove Dependencies

Clean up unnecessary dependencies:

sudo apt autoremove -y

sudo apt autoremove -y

Step 5: Delete Docker Data Directories

Docker stores images, containers, and other runtime files in /var/lib/docker and /var/lib/containerd. To completely wipe Docker from your system:

sudo rm -rf /var/lib/{docker,containerd}

sudo rm -rf /var/lib/{docker,containerd}

Step 6: Verify Removal

Check if Docker has been removed:

docker --version

docker --version

If Docker was removed successfully, this command will return:

Command 'docker' not found

Command 'docker' not found

Conclusion

Whether you’re troubleshooting issues, switching versions, or simply no longer need Docker, these steps ensure a clean removal from your system.

Read More : Install Docker On Ubuntu