如何对Docker托管卷进行数据编辑、访问及SFTP操作？

Great question! Managed volumes are absolutely a more portable, Docker-native alternative to bind mounts—smart move making the switch. Let’s walk through exactly how to edit files, access the volume via SFTP, and export its data, step by step.

1. Editing Files in a Managed Volume (Vim or Direct Edits) #

You’ve got two solid options here, depending on whether you prefer working inside a container or directly on your host:

Option A: Use a Temporary Container (Most Portable) #

Spin up a lightweight temporary container that mounts your managed volume, then edit files directly inside it. This works across all OSes (Linux, macOS, Windows) without relying on Docker’s internal file paths:

# Start an interactive Alpine shell with your volume mounted to /target
docker run -it --rm -v test-volume:/target alpine sh

# Inside the container, install Vim (or your editor of choice)
apk add vim

# Now you can navigate to /target and edit files like normal
vim /target/your-theme-file.html

When you exit the container, it’ll automatically clean itself up (--rm flag), but all changes to the volume will persist.

Option B: Edit Directly on the Host (Linux Only) #

Docker stores managed volumes in a standard directory on Linux hosts. You can access this path directly, though you’ll need sudo for permission:

# Navigate to the volume's data directory
cd /var/lib/docker/volumes/test-volume/_data

# Edit files with Vim (or any editor) using sudo
sudo vim your-theme-file.html

Note: This path is specific to Linux. For macOS/Windows, Docker runs in a virtual machine, so this method is less straightforward—stick with the temporary container approach instead.

2. Accessing the Volume via SFTP #

To use SFTP to upload, download, or edit files in your managed volume, you can run a dedicated SFTP container that mounts the volume. The atmoz/sftp image is a popular, lightweight choice:

# Start an SFTP container in the background
# Replace "yourpassword" with a secure password of your choice
docker run -d -p 2222:22 -v test-volume:/home/ftpuser/upload atmoz/sftp ftpuser:yourpassword:1001

Now you can connect to your SFTP server using any SFTP client:

• Host: localhost (or your server’s IP if running remotely)
• Port: 2222
• Username: ftpuser
• Password: yourpassword
  Files you upload to the /upload directory in the SFTP session will be stored directly in your test-volume managed volume.

3. Exporting Data from a Managed Volume #

If you need to back up or migrate your volume’s data, here are two reliable methods:

Option A: Use a Container to Create a Tar Backup #

This method is OS-agnostic and avoids messing with Docker’s internal paths:

# Create a tar backup of the volume in your current working directory
docker run --rm -v test-volume:/source -v $(pwd):/target alpine tar cvf /target/test-volume-backup.tar -C /source .

You’ll end up with a test-volume-backup.tar file in your current directory containing all the volume’s data.

Option B: Copy Directly from the Host (Linux Only) #

If you’re on Linux, you can copy the volume’s data directly from its host directory:

# Copy the entire volume contents to a local backup folder
sudo cp -r /var/lib/docker/volumes/test-volume/_data ./test-volume-backup

Or create a tar archive directly:

sudo tar cvf test-volume-backup.tar -C /var/lib/docker/volumes/test-volume/_data .

Quick Note on Managed Volumes vs. Bind Mounts #

One of the biggest perks of managed volumes is that Docker handles the storage lifecycle—you don’t have to track host paths, and they’re easier to migrate between environments. The methods above keep that portability intact while giving you the same file editing flexibility you had with bind mounts.

内容的提问来源于stack exchange，提问作者Arturo