You can create, inspect, and manage builders using docker buildx commands,
or using Docker Desktop.
Create a new builder#
The default builder uses the docker driver.
You can't manually create new docker builders, but you can create builders
that use other drivers, such as the
docker-container driver,
which runs the BuildKit daemon in a container.
Use the
docker buildx create
command to create a builder.
$ docker buildx create --name=<builder-name>
Buildx uses the docker-container driver by default if you omit the --driver
flag. For more information about available drivers, see
Build drivers.
List available builders#
Use docker buildx ls to see builder instances available on your system, and
the drivers they're using.
$ docker buildx ls
NAME/NODE DRIVER/ENDPOINT STATUS BUILDKIT PLATFORMS
default * docker
default default running v0.11.6 linux/amd64, linux/amd64/v2, linux/amd64/v3, linux/386
my_builder docker-container
my_builder0 default running v0.11.6 linux/amd64, linux/amd64/v2, linux/amd64/v3, linux/386
The asterisk (*) next to the builder name indicates the
selected builder.
Inspect a builder#
To inspect a builder with the CLI, use docker buildx inspect <name>.
You can only inspect a builder if the builder is active.
You can add the --bootstrap flag to the command to start the builder.
$ docker buildx inspect --bootstrap my_builder
[+] Building 1.7s (1/1) FINISHED
=> [internal] booting buildkit 1.7s
=> => pulling image moby/buildkit:buildx-stable-1 1.3s
=> => creating container buildx_buildkit_my_builder0 0.4s
Name: my_builder
Driver: docker-container
Last Activity: 2023-06-21 18:28:37 +0000 UTC
Nodes:
Name: my_builder0
Endpoint: unix:///var/run/docker.sock
Status: running
Buildkit: v0.11.6
Platforms: linux/arm64, linux/amd64, linux/amd64/v2, linux/riscv64, linux/ppc64le, linux/s390x, linux/386, linux/mips64le, linux/mips64, linux/arm/v7, linux/arm/v6
If you want to see how much disk space a builder is using, use the
docker buildx du command. By default, this command shows the total disk usage
for all available builders. To see usage for a specific builder, use the
--builder flag.
$ docker buildx du --builder my_builder
ID RECLAIMABLE SIZE LAST ACCESSED
olkri5gq6zsh8q2819i69aq6l true 797.2MB 37 seconds ago
6km4kasxgsywxkm6cxybdumbb* true 438.5MB 36 seconds ago
qh3wwwda7gx2s5u4hsk0kp4w7 true 213.8MB 37 seconds ago
54qq1egqem8max3lxq6180cj8 true 200.2MB 37 seconds ago
ndlp969ku0950bmrw9muolw0c* true 116.7MB 37 seconds ago
u52rcsnfd1brwc0chwsesb3io* true 116.7MB 37 seconds ago
rzoeay0s4nmss8ub59z6lwj7d true 46.25MB 4 minutes ago
itk1iibhmv7awmidiwbef633q true 33.33MB 37 seconds ago
4p78yqnbmgt6xhcxqitdieeln true 19.46MB 4 minutes ago
dgkjvv4ay0szmr9bl7ynla7fy* true 19.24MB 36 seconds ago
tuep198kmcw299qc9e4d1a8q2 true 8.663MB 4 minutes ago
n1wzhauk9rpmt6ib1es7dktvj true 20.7kB 4 minutes ago
0a2xfhinvndki99y69157udlm true 16.56kB 37 seconds ago
gf0z1ypz54npfererqfeyhinn true 16.38kB 37 seconds ago
nz505f12cnsu739dw2pw0q78c true 8.192kB 37 seconds ago
hwpcyq5hdfvioltmkxu7fzwhb* true 8.192kB 37 seconds ago
acekq89snc7j6im1rjdizvsg1* true 8.192kB 37 seconds ago
Reclaimable: 2.01GB
Total: 2.01GB
Remove a builder#
Use the
docker buildx remove
command to remove a builder.
$ docker buildx rm <builder-name>
If you remove your currently selected builder,
the default docker builder is automatically selected.
You can't remove the default builder.
Local build cache for the builder is also removed.
Removing remote builders#
Removing a remote builder doesn't affect the remote build cache. It also doesn't stop the remote BuildKit daemon. It only removes your connection to the builder.
Manage builders with Docker Desktop#
If you have turned on the Docker Desktop Builds view, you can inspect builders in Docker Desktop settings.