Where are Docker volumes physically stored?

Docker volumes are physically stored on the host machine, outside the containers - usually in the directory:

Each volume is a separate directory with service metadata and the real data. The container simply mounts this directory inside its own file system.

#How this is arranged

• Docker stores all volumes in its own system folder (by default /var/lib/docker/volumes/).
• Each volume has its own folder with a unique ID.
• Inside it there is a _data subdirectory, which holds the application's actual files.

Example structure:

#How to view volumes

#How to find the path to a specific volume

The Mountpoint field shows the actual path on disk.

Summary: data from volumes is stored on the host, usually in /var/lib/docker/volumes/, and the container accesses it through a mount point. Thanks to this, the volume outlives any container.