Over time, Docker containers can accumulate log files that take up significant disk space—especially in long-running or verbose applications. If you’re running into storage issues or want a clean log state for debugging, clearing Docker container logs can help.
In this blog post, you’ll learn:
- Where Docker stores logs
- How to view and clear container logs
- Safe practices to manage log sizes
🧾 Where Are Docker Logs Stored?
By default, Docker uses the json-file logging driver, and stores logs in:
/var/lib/docker/containers/<container-id>/<container-id>-json.log
This file contains all STDOUT and STDERR logs generated by the container.
👀 View Current Container Logs
To inspect logs from a running container, use:
docker logs <container-name>
For live logs:
docker logs -f <container-name>
But what if you want to clear them?
🧹 How to Clear Docker Logs (Without Restarting the Container)
You can truncate the log file using the following command:
sudo truncate -s 0 /var/lib/docker/containers/<container-id>/<container-id>-json.log
🔍 How to find the container ID:
docker inspect --format='{{.Id}}' <container-name>
🛑 Warning: Be sure you are targeting the correct container. Truncating the wrong file could lead to unexpected behavior.
🔁 Option: Restart Container to Reset Logs
If truncating feels risky, you can restart the container, which resets the logging file (if using log rotation):
docker container restart <container-name>
This is safer but causes downtime.
🔧 Pro Tip: Use Log Rotation to Avoid Large Logs
Edit or create /etc/docker/daemon.json:
{
"log-driver": "json-file",
"log-opts": {
"max-size": "10m",
"max-file": "3"
}
}
Then restart the Docker daemon:
sudo systemctl restart docker
This keeps logs manageable automatically, by limiting file size and number of log files.
📝 Summary
| Task | Command or Action |
|---|---|
| View logs | docker logs <name> |
| Truncate log file | truncate -s 0 on *.json.log |
| Get container ID | docker inspect --format='{{.Id}}' <name> |
| Enable log rotation | Edit daemon.json and set log-opts |
| Restart Docker | sudo systemctl restart docker |
✅ Conclusion
Cleaning Docker container logs is essential for long-term maintenance and disk space management. Whether you’re debugging or preparing for production, managing logs properly ensures better performance and clarity.
For best results, combine manual cleanup with log rotation settings, so you rarely have to worry about bloated logs again.