Compose: docker compose volume mounts not work on Windows

[jleetutorial]

When running docker-compose up, we get this error:

ERROR: for dockerapp  Cannot create container for service dockerapp: Invalid bind mount spec "C:\\Users\\nidal\\dockerapp\\app:/app:rw": Invalid volume specification: 'C:\Users\nidal\dockerapp\app:/app:rw'
ERROR: Encountered errors while bringing up the project.

The docker-compose file is attached below

version: '2'
services:
  dockerapp:
    build: .
    ports:
      - "5000:5000"
    volumes:
      - ./app:/app

  redis:
    image: redis:3.2.0

We get the error both on Docker for Windows and Docker toolbox running on Windows.

$ docker version
Client:
 Version:      1.12.5
 API version:  1.24
 Go version:   go1.6.4
 Git commit:   7392c3b
 Built:        Fri Dec 16 06:14:34 2016
 OS/Arch:      windows/amd64

Server:
 Version:      1.12.5
 API version:  1.24
 Go version:   go1.6.4
 Git commit:   7392c3b
 Built:        Fri Dec 16 06:14:34 2016
 OS/Arch:      linux/amd64

$ docker-compose version
docker-compose version 1.9.0, build 2585387
docker-py version: 1.10.6
CPython version: 2.7.12
OpenSSL version: OpenSSL 1.0.2h  3 May 2016

$docker-compose --verbose config
compose.config.config.find: Using configuration files: .\docker-compose.yml
networks: {}
services:
  dockerapp:
    build:
      context: C:\Users\nidal\dockerapp
    ports:
    - 5000:5000
    volumes:
    - C:\Users\nidal\dockerapp\app:/app:rw
  redis:
    image: redis:3.2.0
version: '2.0'
volumes: {}

[shin-]

Did you set COMPOSE_CONVERT_WINDOWS_PATHS ?

[jleetutorial]

We made a .env file in same directory as docker-compose.yml file

and added COMPOSE_CONVERT_WINDOWS_PATHS=1

we have also tried this to be true.

but still getting below error.

ABHISHEK@WindowsAbhi MINGW64 ~/Desktop/docker/dockerapp-releases/dockerapp-0.4/dockerapp-0.4
$ docker-compose up
dockerapp04_redis_1 is up-to-date
Creating dockerapp04_dockerapp_1

ERROR: for dockerapp Cannot create container for service dockerapp: Invalid bind mount spec "C:\Users\ABHISHEK\Desktop\docker\dockerapp-releases\dockerapp-0.4\do
ckerapp-0.4\app:/app:rw": Invalid volume specification: 'C:\Users\ABHISHEK\Desktop\docker\dockerapp-releases\dockerapp-0.4\dockerapp-0.4\app:/app:rw'
←[31mERROR←[0m: Encountered errors while bringing up the project.

[abhisheks2010]

Is there a better way to do COMPOSE_CONVERT_WINDOWS_PATHS or any other workaround.

[igordata]

Just type "export COMPOSE_CONVERT_WINDOWS_PATHS=1" and it will work until reboot.

[BlakeWills]

Any reason this was closed? I've created a system environment variable and tried the .env file but still no avail.

[shin-]

It's not closed, but that particular issue should be resolved. Make sure your Compose version is up to date and your docker-compose.yml is correct.

[DavidAdamczyk]

I have the same issue on Windows 10. I use docker-compose version 1.11.2, build f963d76f and Docker version 17.03.1-ce, build c6d412e and this repo https://github.com/b00giZm/docker-compose-nodejs-examples/tree/master/00-basic-express-generator with correct Dockerfile and docker-compose.yml when i run docker-inspect i get this info: https://www.pastiebin.com/593bc096af354 but when i go inside to container and run ls /src i get this:

root@930bfd8a7df0:/src# ls
node_modules  package.json

i can't find app directory inside container.
But when i run:

PS D:\00-basic-express-generator> docker run --rm -v c:/Users:/data alpine ls /data
Administrator
All Users
Default
Default User 

volumes is working great

Is there any solution how to fix this bug in docker-compose?

[HWiese1980]

One and a half months... is there a solution yet?

[rolandwolters]

Running Docker 17.06.0-ce-win19 (12801) on Windows 10 using Visual Studio 2017 I ran into this thing.
I saw the "create e .env file" tip but on Window you cannot have a file with no name?

[HWiese1980]

Yes, you can. At least on Windows 10.

[riker09]

@rolandwolters You cannot have a file without a filename in Explorer. But you can open a Powershell, navigate to your project directory and type:

mv e.env .env

[shin-]

If you're still having issues, please make sure your shared drives are configured properly: https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/stevelasker/2016/06/14/configuring-docker-for-windows-volumes/

[cre8]

It worked for me with COMPOSE_CONVERT_WINDOWS_PATHS=1, but I had to shut down all containers docker-compose stop, not just the one who uses it.

[peteanusergiu]

I've used , in a CMD window, SET COMPOSE_CONVERT_WINDOWS_PATHS=1 and it suddenly starting working. Remember to open a new CMD window.

[jaspervandaele]

I just discovered the "Reset Credentials..." button in the Shared Drive settings, which solved the issue for me. In my case the volume suddenly stopped working after disabling+enabling Hyper-V. Resetting the credentials for the shared drives fixed it again

[cvillerm]

@jaspervandaele, thanks a lot, this fixed my issue too. The error message Are you trying to mount a directory onto a file (or vice-versa)? Check if the specified host path exists and is the expected type I was facing was so generic that I was wondering what was wrong. As I changed my Windows credentials recently, this is what caused this error. I wished there was something more explicit in case the mounted volume cannot be accessed at all

[brianrichins]

@rolandwolters You can bypass the Windows Explorer naming restriction by adding an extra . at the end. So renaming a file and typing ".env." results in .env, ".gitignore." becomes .gitignore, etc.

[aysark]

@jaspervandaele thanks for that- solved it for me.

[gersondinis]

1. On Command Line: "_set COMPOSE_CONVERT_WINDOWS_PATHS=1_";
2. Restart Docker for Windows;
3. Go to Docker for Windows settings > Shared Drives > Reset credentials > select drive > Apply;
4. Reopen Command Line;
5. Kill the _Containers_;
6. Rerun the _Containers_.

[wsmelton]

@gersondinis there is no option in settings for Shared Drives when Docker CE is running in Windows mode...unless I'm missing something using edge release:

[gersondinis]

Try to change from edge version to stable version on _Daemon_ tab.
You should see something like this:
https://cdn-enterprise.discourse.org/docker/uploads/default/optimized/2X/d/df575b41215fb89a1f79f6bf8f0864b7366e9955_1_690x312.png

If it doesn't, try to _upgrade/update_ your Docker for Windows.

[tnovau]

@gersondinis Thanks!, that solved my problem!

[wsmelton]

@gersondinis latest version of CE and stable version...this is all I get:

[roeehershko]

@gersondinis Sir your a life saver!
for me it wasnt the environment variable, it was due to changing windows password, thanks you sir!

[ELI7VH]

This did not solve the problem for me. I still run into issues trying to mount files to my docker-compose

[Lobosque]

I'm also having problems mounting volumes on Windows containers (it works fine in Linux containers).
I tried everything in this thread. I also tried relative and absolute paths.

Whenever I try to mount volumes on Windows Containers I get:

ERROR: Cannot create container for service builder: invalid volume specification: 'D:\project\docker-env\dist:/dist:rw'

[shin-]

I don't think /dist is a valid Windows path.

[stavrogin]

On Command Line: "_set COMPOSE_CONVERT_WINDOWS_PATHS=1_";
Restart Docker for Windows;
Go to Docker for Windows settings > Shared Drives > Reset credentials > select drive > Apply;
Reopen Command Line;
Kill the _Containers_;
Rerun the _Containers_.

1. On Command Line: "_set COMPOSE_CONVERT_WINDOWS_PATHS=1_";
2. Restart Docker for Windows;
3. Go to Docker for Windows settings > Shared Drives > Reset credentials > select drive > Apply;
4. Reopen Command Line;
5. Kill the _Containers_;
6. Rerun the _Containers_.

You're the man, it solved the problem, thank you

[philippelamny]

This settings in the docker-compose file work well:

    volumes:
      - type: bind
        source: ./source_local_directory
        target: c:\target_directory
        bind:
          propagation: cached

[tylim88]

@gersondinis there is no option in settings for Shared Drives when Docker CE is running in Windows mode...unless I'm missing something using edge release:

you are not seeing it because you are using window container, you need to switch to linux container

[dbjpanda]

Will $PWD also work with COMPOSE_CONVERT_WINDOWS_PATHS=1 ? e.g

drupal:
    driver: local
    driver_opts:
      type: none
      device: $PWD/code/drupal
      o: bind

[aalkz]

I was having this issue (at least I think it's the same issue), but since I wanted to keep Hyper-V off in order to use accelerated emulation for Intel + Android, I couldn't use the Docker for Windows GUI app and look for those _Shared Drives_ settings that @shin- mentioned, because I was using docker-machine.exe + VirtualBox. So what I had to do in this particular case instead was this: https://forums.docker.com/t/how-to-share-volumes-and-or-drives-using-docker-machine-on-windows-not-beta/20170/2

& "C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\VBoxManage.exe" sharedfolder add default --name "shared" --hostpath "C:/your/shared/folder/" --automount

And then in docker-compose.yml:

volumes:
      - /shared:/some/dir/in/the/container

I think this is more like a workaround and not a full solution, but I hope somebody finds it helpful.

TL;DR: If you're using VirtualBox and not Docker for Windows, try mounting the drives in VirtualBox with VBoxManage.exe

[BenMatheja]

I'm using windows subsystem for linux, running the docker-host on the windows machine exposed via non-TLS port 2375.

I tried what @stavrogin mentioned, but it did not work.
My docker-compose.yml mounts a file into the container like this:

version: '2'

services:
  nginx:
    image: nginx:latest
    volumes:
      - ./nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf
    ports:
      - 80:80
      - 443:443

After running docker-compose up i get " Are you trying to mount a directory onto a file (or vice-versa)"

Starting ea_nginx_1 ...
Starting ea_grafana_1 ...
Starting ea_influxdb_1 ...
Starting ea_collectd_1 ... error

ERROR: for ea_collectd_1  Cannot start service collectd: b'OCI runtime create failed: container_linux.go:344: starting container process caused "process_linux.go:424: containeStarting ea_nginx_1    ... error947aaf139ee40bd985d078112919c30/merged\\\\\\" at \\\\\\"/var/lib/docker/overlay2/7a737fdd9749373317586ea8c17258c8b947aaf139ee40bd985d078112919c30/merged/etc/collectd/collectd.conf\\\\\\" caused \\\\\\"not a directory\\\\\\"\\"": unknown: Are you trying to mount a directory onto a file (or vice-versa)? Check if the specified host path exists and is
the expected type'

ERROR: for ea_nginx_1  Cannot start service nginx: b'OCI runtime create failed: container_linux.go:344: starting container process caused "process_linux.go:424: container init caused \\"rootfs_linux.go:58: mounting \\\\\\"/mnt/d/Daten/workspace/ea/nginx.conf\\\\\\" to rootfs \\\\\\"/var/lib/docker/overlay2/db2c014e375524c7b6bf97cc874915d023c25b8e8f

I tried placing an .env file within the directory

 ben@ben-desktop  /d/Daten/workspace/ea   master ●  ls -al
total 60
drwxrwxrwx 1 ben ben  4096 Feb  3 09:47 .
drwxrwxrwx 1 ben ben  4096 Feb  3 08:44 ..
-rwxrwxrwx 1 ben ben 34197 Feb  3 08:37 collectd.conf
-rwxrwxrwx 1 ben ben   765 Feb  3 09:32 docker-compose.yml
-rwxrwxrwx 1 ben ben    31 Feb  3 09:52 .env
drwxrwxrwx 1 ben ben  4096 Feb  3 10:03 .git
-rwxrwxrwx 1 ben ben  2641 Feb  3 08:37 influxdb.conf
-rwxrwxrwx 1 ben ben  1086 Feb  3 08:37 LICENSE
-rwxrwxrwx 1 ben ben   169 Feb  3 09:26 nginx.conf
-rwxrwxrwx 1 ben ben   629 Feb  3 08:37 README.md
-rwxrwxrwx 1 ben ben  8577 Feb  3 08:37 types.db
 ben@ben-desktop  /d/Daten/workspace/ea   master ● 

But still cannot start the containers from my Windows machine. Running the exact same configuration on a linode works as is. What am I missing out here?

Edit: Moving the repository within the subsystem /home/ben/ea did also not resolve it

Edit: I fixed it with changing the Volumes from

 nginx:
    image: nginx:latest
    volumes:
      - ./nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf
    ports:
      - 80:80
      - 443:443

to

 nginx:
    image: nginx:latest
    volumes:
      - ${PWD}/nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf
    ports:
      - 80:80
      - 443:443

[gischy]

using docker toolbox on windows this way i could solve my the issue
https://medium.com/@Charles_Stover/fixing-volumes-in-docker-toolbox-4ad5ace0e572

_docker-compose.yml:_

version: '3'
services:
web:
build: .
ports:
- "5000:5000"
volumes:
- //c/var/docker-compose-test:/code
redis:
image: "redis:alpine"

[saulonunesdev]

If you're still having issues, please make sure your shared drives are configured properly: https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/stevelasker/2016/06/14/configuring-docker-for-windows-volumes/

and this COMPOSE_CONVERT_WINDOWS_PATHS=1

Worked for me

[vkim-rogers]

This settings in the docker-compose file work well:

    volumes:
      - type: bind
        source: ./source_local_directory
        target: c:\target_directory
        bind:
          propagation: cached

Thank you, it is working.

BTW, please keep in mind you should use at least version 3.3 of docker-compose YAML notation.

[systemsincode]

This settings in the docker-compose file work well:

    volumes:
      - type: bind
        source: ./source_local_directory
        target: c:\target_directory
        bind:
          propagation: cached

This fixed it for me too...

[datocrats-org]

What about ownership between windows docker host and container users, assuming docker-compose volume mounts correctly, the drivers do not seem to exist to translate ownership. Would we need to chown after each docker-compose up if we wanted to edit the mounted data on windows, for example?

[prasannjeet]

I just discovered the "Reset Credentials..." button in the Shared Drive settings, which solved the issue for me. In my case the volume suddenly stopped working after disabling+enabling Hyper-V. Resetting the credentials for the shared drives fixed it again

Can someone elaborate this please? I don't understand where can I find these settings.

[danielleiszen]

I just discovered the "Reset Credentials..." button in the Shared Drive settings, which solved the issue for me. In my case the volume suddenly stopped working after disabling+enabling Hyper-V. Resetting the credentials for the shared drives fixed it again

Can someone elaborate this please? I don't understand where can I find these settings.

On the latest Docker for Windows GUI these settings are removed, I guess because this version is not supposed to loose credentials