Bind mount
A bind mount makes an existing file or directory accessible at another filesystem location, commonly exposing host contents within a container.
Learn Docker in a Month of Lunches, Second Edition
A local bind mount makes a directory or file from the host filesystem available at a path in a container.
- How it is used
- Shares host directories or files with containers for data access, development, configuration, and selected network-storage workflows.
- How deep it goes
- Explains mounting, bidirectional access, read-only use, directory shadowing, file behavior, and storage limitations across operating systems.
- Examples
- Demonstrates host database persistence, local source-code loading, read-only configuration, and directory-versus-file mount behavior.
- What you can do after
- Operate/configure Docker containers with host-backed directories, verify mounted data, and choose read-only or writable access appropriately.
Read how Learn Docker in a Month of Lunches, Second Edition explains bind mount →
Building Distributed Applications that Work
A bind mount maps a location in the host filesystem to a location in a container filesystem.
- How it is used
- Makes host-managed realm JSON files available inside a Keycloak container during startup.
- How deep it goes
- Defines the mapping and shows its Aspire configuration, startup argument, and build-output requirement without exploring Docker internals.
- Examples
- Maps a local Keycloak folder to /opt/keycloak/data/import through an ImportRealms extension method.
- What you can do after
- Apply it via Aspire’s WithBindMount to supply realm files to Keycloak at startup.
Read how Building Distributed Applications that Work explains bind mount →
Related concepts
- file systemuses · A file system is a software-managed structure and interface for organizing, naming, storing, and accessing files and directories on storage.
- Docker Composeused by · Docker Compose is a tool for defining and running applications composed of multiple containers through declarative configuration.
- containeruses · A software container is an isolated execution environment that packages an application and its dependencies while sharing the host operating system kernel.
- Podmanused by · Podman is a daemonless, open-source container engine for building, running, and managing containers and container images.
- volumekind of · A volume is a logical storage resource that provides capacity for storing and accessing data, often by making it available to an operating system or application.
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