From e6eab216e6e3c6e474aab4398da8010b4e50665b Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Satwik Sai Prakash Sahoo Date: Sun, 26 Jul 2026 19:10:10 +0530 Subject: [PATCH] docs: clarify --transient-store behavior with volumes Document that only the Podman database is transient, not volume data on disk. After a reboot, volumes created under --transient-store lose their database entries but the underlying data persists and can be reused. Mention podman system prune --external for cleaning up orphaned volume data, and note that it should be used consistently across all commands. Fixes: #25295 Signed-off-by: Satwik Sai Prakash Sahoo --- docs/source/markdown/podman.1.md | 4 ++++ 1 file changed, 4 insertions(+) diff --git a/docs/source/markdown/podman.1.md b/docs/source/markdown/podman.1.md index fdbe58230a..6b96c46ba8 100644 --- a/docs/source/markdown/podman.1.md +++ b/docs/source/markdown/podman.1.md @@ -206,6 +206,10 @@ Enables a global transient storage mode where all container metadata is stored o This mode allows starting containers faster, as well as guaranteeing a fresh state on boot in case of unclean shutdowns or other problems. However it is not compatible with a traditional model where containers persist across reboots. +Only the Podman database (container and volume metadata) is stored transiently. Volume data on disk is not affected and persists across reboots. After a reboot, previously created volumes will not appear in **podman volume ls** because their database entries were lost, but the underlying data remains in the volume storage directory. If a container later creates a volume with the same name, it will reuse the existing data. To clean up leftover volume data that is no longer tracked by the database, use **podman system prune --external**. + +It should be used consistently across all Podman commands and not mixed with regular (non-transient) usage within the same environment. + Default value for this is configured in `containers-storage.conf(5)`. #### **--url**=*value*