Question

Docker mount volumes do not show changes

Hello,

I am learning docker for the 2nd time and wanted to try out sharing files or directories between a Windows host and a docker container.

The Windows host is remote connected via ssh and is in the directory C: Users<user> Docker is installed on the Windows host with the WSL 2 backend.

I run a container in detached mode where I want to mount the Windows host Documents folder and want to point it to /tmp in the container: docker run -dit -v /Documents:/tmp python bash

In another remote shell I want to create a small file in the Documents folder, hoping it would appear in the containers /tmp dir: echo “this is a line of text” >>text.txt The file is successfully created

When I attach to the running container and list the directory of /tmp nothing is changed. What do I do wrong?

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Bobby Iliev
Site Moderator
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• December 5, 2020
Accepted Answer

Hi there @ddingemanse,

I believe that you need to specify the full path to your Documents folder on your host, for example: C:\Users\your_user\Documents.

For more information make sure to check the official documentation for Docker on Windows and shared drives here:

https://docs.docker.com/docker-for-windows/#shared-drives

Another thing you could do is to run the df -h command inside the Docker container to see the attached volume.

Let me know how it goes. Regards, Bobby