What is the difference between volumes and bind mounts?

Short answer

Volumes are managed by Docker and stored in a dedicated host directory, while bind mounts map a specific host path into the container. Volumes are preferred for portability and backup, while bind mounts are useful for development.

Key differences

• Volumes: Managed with docker volume, stored in Docker's data directory, and can be named or anonymous.
• Bind mounts: Map any host directory or file directly into the container.
• tmpfs mounts: Store data in host memory only, never written to disk.

Example

Volume:

docker run -v mydata:/data ubuntu

Bind mount:

docker run -v $(pwd)/src:/app/src ubuntu

When to use each

• Use volumes for databases, shared application data, and production workloads.
• Use bind mounts for live code reloading during development.
• Use tmpfs for sensitive data that should not persist.

Common issues

• Bind mounts can cause permission mismatches between host and container users.
• Anonymous volumes are harder to track and can leak disk space.
• SELinux can block bind mounts unless labeled correctly with :z or :Z.