# Use remote files in docker container

**URL:** <https://forums.docker.com/t/use-remote-files-in-docker-container/147807>\
**Category:** General\
**Created:** [April 23, 2025, 6:37pm UTC](https://forums.docker.com/t/use-remote-files-in-docker-container/147807 "2025-04-23T18:37:18Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![pinchas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/docker/user_avatar/forums.docker.com/pinchas/32/58719_2.png) [@pinchas](https://forums.docker.com/u/pinchas)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2025, 6:37pm UTC](https://forums.docker.com/t/use-remote-files-in-docker-container/147807/1 "2025-04-23T18:37:18Z")

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I am trying to containerize an app, my app is using remote files mounted in folder.

I have been unsuccesfull with using mount.nfs or sshfs inside a debian container.

I tried to bind mount a host folder, and mounted all remote files to subfolders in the host, but the folders are still empty within the container, (viewing the local contents)

I prefer the 2nd since that would mean I can base on scratch, but any way is good?

What is the correct approach to this, is docker only meant to access local files?

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**Author:** ![meyay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/docker/user_avatar/forums.docker.com/meyay/32/34000_2.png) [@meyay](https://forums.docker.com/u/meyay)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2025, 7:24pm UTC](https://forums.docker.com/t/use-remote-files-in-docker-container/147807/2 "2025-04-23T19:24:42Z")

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Container bind host folders by inode. So whatever the inode was when the container was started, is what the container will see. When you mount something, like a nfs remote share, in a host folder, it will have a different inode. You might want to read the mount propagation section here: [Bind mounts | Docker Docs](https://docs.docker.com/engine/storage/bind-mounts/#configure-bind-propagation)

Though, the intended approach is to use a volume with the local driver and type nfs. The driver name might be misleading, as it’s perfectly capable of supporting remote shares. It just means it is locally managed on the host - even if run on a swarm cluster.

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**Author:** ![pinchas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/docker/user_avatar/forums.docker.com/pinchas/32/58719_2.png) [@pinchas](https://forums.docker.com/u/pinchas)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2025, 8:02pm UTC](https://forums.docker.com/t/use-remote-files-in-docker-container/147807/3 "2025-04-23T20:02:24Z")

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Thanks, network backed volumes is very usefull.

In general I was relucant about volumes due to them being too persistent and not easy to move arround, but with a network backend volumes this is no longer a problem.

Technical question, are the NFS backed volumes working in user mode? or it is being mounted on the host silantly, maybe it will solve issues of syscalls getting stuck in kernel when the remote host is acting up. how can i know that?

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**Author:** ![bluepuma77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/docker/user_avatar/forums.docker.com/bluepuma77/32/32688_2.png) [@bluepuma77](https://forums.docker.com/u/bluepuma77)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2025, 8:41pm UTC](https://forums.docker.com/t/use-remote-files-in-docker-container/147807/4 "2025-04-23T20:41:06Z")

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For mounting a host mounted folder, it might be possible to simply mount a local host folder that contains the network mount as folder inside. So the bind mount always stays the same.

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**Author:** ![pinchas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/docker/user_avatar/forums.docker.com/pinchas/32/58719_2.png) [@pinchas](https://forums.docker.com/u/pinchas)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2025, 9:09pm UTC](https://forums.docker.com/t/use-remote-files-in-docker-container/147807/5 "2025-04-23T21:09:21Z")

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Are you sure this would work, if yes how.

THis was exact my scenirio I think, and it did not work, it was empty from within the container, from mayas answer I understand that I can play arround with the propegation settings, but I didn’t tried yet, I am trying to see first how remote volumes is working.

Your feedback is appriciated regardless.

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**Author:** ![rimelek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/docker/user_avatar/forums.docker.com/rimelek/32/41602_2.png) [@rimelek](https://forums.docker.com/u/rimelek)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2025, 10:03pm UTC](https://forums.docker.com/t/use-remote-files-in-docker-container/147807/6 "2025-04-23T22:03:07Z")

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> [@pinchas](#):
>
> Technical question, are the NFS backed volumes working in user mode? or it is being mounted on the host silantly, maybe it will solve issues of syscalls getting stuck in kernel when the remote host is acting up. how can i know that?

You will still have a volume folder in the Docker data root in (by default) `/var/lib/docker/volumes/volumename/_data` and the nfs filesystem will be mounted there as long as a container uses it. When all the container stops, the filesystem is unmounted. So you still have a bind mount basically, except that you don’t need to manually handle the mounting and unmounting part because Docker will do it, but you need to set the right parameters when creating the volume. I tried it so I can share the test files:

nfs server compose project in the nfs folder:

```auto
services:
  nfs-server:
    image: openebs/nfs-server-alpine:0.11.0
    volumes:
      - type: bind
        source: ./data
        target: /mnt/nfs
    environment:
      SHARED_DIRECTORY: /mnt/nfs
      SYNC: sync
      FILEPERMISSIONS_UID: 0
      FILEPERMISSIONS_GID: 0
      FILEPERMISSIONS_MODE: "0755"
    privileged: true
    ports:
      - 127.0.0.1:2049:2049/tcp
      - 127.0.0.1:2049:2049/udp

```

Creating the volume (you can use compose for this too, but this is better for my example)

```auto
docker volume create --driver local --opt type=nfs --opt o=addr=127.0.0.1,vers=4,rw --opt device=:/ nfs

```

And my test container

```auto
docker run -d --name nfs-client -v nfs:/nfs nginx
docker exec --rm nfs-client touch /nfs/file.txt
ls -la /var/lib/docker/volumes/nfs/_data/

```

```plaintext
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 23 23:34 .
drwx-----x 3 root root 4096 Apr 23 23:24 ..
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 0 Apr 23 23:34 file.txt

```

Regarding inodes, you can test what @meyay meant probably. Start the nfs-client container and run

```auto
docker run --rm -it -v /var/lib/docker/volumes/nfs/_data/:/mnt bash ls -la /mnt/

```

You will see the files bind mounted into the bash container.  
Now stop the nfs-client container, and run:

```auto
docker run --rm -it -v /var/lib/docker/volumes/nfs/_data/:/mnt bash

```

Go to /mnt

```auto
cd /mnt

```

Now open another terminal and start the nfs-client container. It will remount the nfs filesystem in the docker data root, but you are already in `/mnt/ in the container. Run

```auto
ls -lai

```

In the container. And it will show no files:

```auto
total 8
 285930 drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 23 21:24 .
 286026 drwxr-xr-x 1 root root 4096 Apr 23 21:38 ..

```

but try passing the filepath to the ls command:

```auto
bash-5.2# ls -lai $PWD
total 8
 285910 drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 23 21:34 .
 286026 drwxr-xr-x 1 root root 4096 Apr 23 21:38 ..
 286009 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 0 Apr 23 21:34 file.txt

```

now you see the files even though you are checking the same folder basically, but without passing `$PWD` to the ls command, it still sees the old inodes.

So if your nfs filesystem is mounted after you already started a process in the container, it might not see the new files.

Now let’s say you mount a subfolder (note that I just use an NFS volume as source but it could be any kind if nfs mount without Docker. The point is what the container bind mounts, when it bind mounts it and what it can see).  
Stop the nfs client container if it is running.  
Run this on the host:

```auto
docker exec nfs-client mkdir /nfs/data
docker exec nfs-client touch /nfs/data/myfile.txt

```

Stop the nfs client (`docker stop nfs-client`)

Now in the othet terminal, run this:

```auto
docker run --rm -it -v /var/lib/docker/volumes/nfs/_data/data:/mnt bash

```

You are in the container, now let’s run `ls -lai /mnt`

```auto
total 8
 286049 drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 23 21:53 .
 286027 drwxr-xr-x 1 root root 4096 Apr 23 21:53 ..

```

start the nfs client (`docker start nfs-client`), and run this

```auto
ls -lai /var/lib/docker/volumes/nfs/_data/data

```

It shows the dat folder and the file:

```auto
total 8
285986 drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 23 23:51 .
285910 drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 Apr 23 23:50 ..
285993 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 0 Apr 23 23:51 myfile.txt

```

Now Check the files in the bash container:

```auto
ls -lai /mnt

```

But it is still empty:

```auto
total 8
 286049 drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 23 21:53 .
 286027 drwxr-xr-x 1 root root 4096 Apr 23 21:53 ..

```

So if you for example mount a subfolder and then mount the nfs filesystem on a parent folder, the container will still see the original filesystem, not the NFS filesystem.

So it depends on how you mount the folders, but Docker Desktop could be different sometimes as it supports different kind of platforms and requires special features for mounting files from the actual host. Testing that would be a task for another time, but you can try to reproduce what I described and notice the first column in the ls outputs which is the column of the inode numbers.

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/docker/original/3X/d/4/d4fbccd46c81bfcffe9822e20e17736d946fa821.png) [@system](https://forums.docker.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2025, 10:03pm UTC](https://forums.docker.com/t/use-remote-files-in-docker-container/147807/7 "2025-05-23T22:03:41Z")

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Closed on May 23, 2025, 10:03pm UTC

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