{
  "id": 6963018,
  "title": "The 35-Watt Roommate: Docker Cleanup and Surgical Data Recovery",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/12/the-35-watt-roommate-docker-cleanup-and-surgical-data-recovery",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-09-12T17:51:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dev.to",
    "slug": "dev-to",
    "url": "https://dev.to/cdieck88/the-35-watt-roommate-docker-cleanup-and-surgical-data-recovery-4la1"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The author of the story experienced a Docker cleanup gone wrong, which led to accidental deletion of their Gitea instance data. This occurred after making a bad architectural mistake in the docker-compose.yml file, where the volume mapping mistakenly pointed to Docker's internal storage instead of a proper directory. The cleanup process removed the original volume, causing the Gitea instance to reset to factory defaults, wiping out all code and repositories.\n\nTo salvage the situation, the author opted for a surgical recovery using Proxmox backup. The process involved extracting the compressed backup file, converting the VMA archive into a raw image file, and mounting it as a loop device. With the partitions made visible, the author was able to navigate to the lost data directory and restore the repositories and database. However, the SQLite database file suffered corruption, so the author used SQLite's .recover mode to repair it.\n\nFinally, the author rebuilt the setup, incorporating the lessons learned. They avoided using Docker's internal paths for bind mounts, used proper rsync options for NFS mounting, and repaired the SQLite database before restoring the system. The new setup kept the Gitea data on a Synology NAS through a direct mount point, ensuring the data remained safe and accessible.",
  "summary": "Sometimes you just want to clean up a bit and accidentally tear down half the house. That's what happened to me last week with my home lab. I wanted to free up some space on the Lenovo M920q and ran a routine Docker cleanup: delete a few unused images, remove orphaned volumes. But when I opened my Gitea instance afterward, the page was blank. No repositories, no users, everything reset to factory…",
  "key_points": [
    "Author experienced Docker cleanup gone wrong, accidentally deleting Gitea instance data",
    "Author opted for surgical recovery using Proxmox backup to restore Gitea data",
    "Lessons learned: avoided Docker internal paths, used proper rsync options, repaired SQLite database"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}