---
description: "How to manage image and container filesystems with external plugins"
keywords: "Examples, Usage, storage, image, docker, data, graph, plugin, api"
advisory: experimental
---

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# Graphdriver plugins

## Changelog

### 1.13.0

- Support v2 plugins

# Docker graph driver plugins

Docker graph driver plugins enable admins to use an external/out-of-process
graph driver for use with Docker engine. This is an alternative to using the
built-in storage drivers, such as overlay2.

You need to install and enable the plugin and then restart the Docker daemon
before using the plugin. See the following example for the correct ordering
of steps.

```console
$ docker plugin install cpuguy83/docker-overlay2-graphdriver-plugin # this command also enables the driver
<output suppressed>
$ pkill dockerd
$ dockerd --experimental -s cpuguy83/docker-overlay2-graphdriver-plugin
```

# Write a graph driver plugin

See the [plugin documentation](https://docs.docker.com/engine/extend/) for detailed information
on the underlying plugin protocol.


## Graph Driver plugin protocol

If a plugin registers itself as a `GraphDriver` when activated, then it is
expected to provide the rootfs for containers as well as image layer storage.

### /GraphDriver.Init

**Request**:
```json
{
  "Home": "/graph/home/path",
  "Opts": [],
  "UIDMaps": [],
  "GIDMaps": []
}
```

Initialize the graph driver plugin with a home directory and array of options.
These are passed through from the user, but the plugin is not required to parse
or honor them.

The request also includes a list of UID and GID mappings, structed as follows:
```json
{
  "ContainerID": 0,
  "HostID": 0,
  "Size": 0
}
```

**Response**:
```json
{
  "Err": ""
}
```

Respond with a non-empty string error if an error occurred.


### /GraphDriver.Capabilities

**Request**:
```json
{}
```

Get behavioral characteristics of the graph driver. If a plugin does not handle
this request, the engine will use default values for all capabilities.

**Response**:
```json
{
  "ReproducesExactDiffs": false,
}
```

Respond with values of capabilities:

* **ReproducesExactDiffs** Defaults to false. Flags that this driver is capable
of reproducing exactly equivalent diffs for read-only filesystem layers.


### /GraphDriver.Create

**Request**:
```json
{
  "ID": "46fe8644f2572fd1e505364f7581e0c9dbc7f14640bd1fb6ce97714fb6fc5187",
  "Parent": "2cd9c322cb78a55e8212aa3ea8425a4180236d7106938ec921d0935a4b8ca142",
  "MountLabel": "",
  "StorageOpt": {}
}
```

Create a new, empty, read-only filesystem layer with the specified
`ID`, `Parent` and `MountLabel`. If `Parent` is an empty string, there is no
parent layer. `StorageOpt` is map of strings which indicate storage options.

**Response**:
```json
{
  "Err": ""
}
```

Respond with a non-empty string error if an error occurred.

### /GraphDriver.CreateReadWrite

**Request**:
```json
{
  "ID": "46fe8644f2572fd1e505364f7581e0c9dbc7f14640bd1fb6ce97714fb6fc5187",
  "Parent": "2cd9c322cb78a55e8212aa3ea8425a4180236d7106938ec921d0935a4b8ca142",
  "MountLabel": "",
  "StorageOpt": {}
}
```

Similar to `/GraphDriver.Create` but creates a read-write filesystem layer.

### /GraphDriver.Remove

**Request**:
```json
{
  "ID": "46fe8644f2572fd1e505364f7581e0c9dbc7f14640bd1fb6ce97714fb6fc5187"
}
```

Remove the filesystem layer with this given `ID`.

**Response**:
```json
{
  "Err": ""
}
```

Respond with a non-empty string error if an error occurred.

### /GraphDriver.Get

**Request**:
```json
{
  "ID": "46fe8644f2572fd1e505364f7581e0c9dbc7f14640bd1fb6ce97714fb6fc5187",
  "MountLabel": ""
}
```

Get the mountpoint for the layered filesystem referred to by the given `ID`.

**Response**:
```json
{
  "Dir": "/var/mygraph/46fe8644f2572fd1e505364f7581e0c9dbc7f14640bd1fb6ce97714fb6fc5187",
  "Err": ""
}
```

Respond with the absolute path to the mounted layered filesystem.
Respond with a non-empty string error if an error occurred.

### /GraphDriver.Put

**Request**:
```json
{
  "ID": "46fe8644f2572fd1e505364f7581e0c9dbc7f14640bd1fb6ce97714fb6fc5187"
}
```

Release the system resources for the specified `ID`, such as unmounting the
filesystem layer.

**Response**:
```json
{
  "Err": ""
}
```

Respond with a non-empty string error if an error occurred.

### /GraphDriver.Exists

**Request**:
```json
{
  "ID": "46fe8644f2572fd1e505364f7581e0c9dbc7f14640bd1fb6ce97714fb6fc5187"
}
```

Determine if a filesystem layer with the specified `ID` exists.

**Response**:
```json
{
  "Exists": true
}
```

Respond with a boolean for whether or not the filesystem layer with the specified
`ID` exists.

### /GraphDriver.Status

**Request**:
```json
{}
```

Get low-level diagnostic information about the graph driver.

**Response**:
```json
{
  "Status": [[]]
}
```

Respond with a 2-D array with key/value pairs for the underlying status
information.


### /GraphDriver.GetMetadata

**Request**:
```json
{
  "ID": "46fe8644f2572fd1e505364f7581e0c9dbc7f14640bd1fb6ce97714fb6fc5187"
}
```

Get low-level diagnostic information about the layered filesystem with the
with the specified `ID`

**Response**:
```json
{
  "Metadata": {},
  "Err": ""
}
```

Respond with a set of key/value pairs containing the low-level diagnostic
information about the layered filesystem.
Respond with a non-empty string error if an error occurred.

### /GraphDriver.Cleanup

**Request**:
```json
{}
```

Perform necessary tasks to release resources help by the plugin, such as
unmounting all the layered file systems.

**Response**:
```json
{
  "Err": ""
}
```

Respond with a non-empty string error if an error occurred.


### /GraphDriver.Diff

**Request**:
```json
{
  "ID": "46fe8644f2572fd1e505364f7581e0c9dbc7f14640bd1fb6ce97714fb6fc5187",
  "Parent": "2cd9c322cb78a55e8212aa3ea8425a4180236d7106938ec921d0935a4b8ca142"
}
```

Get an archive of the changes between the filesystem layers specified by the `ID`
and `Parent`. `Parent` may be an empty string, in which case there is no parent.

**Response**:

```
{{ TAR STREAM }}
```

### /GraphDriver.Changes

**Request**:
```json
{
  "ID": "46fe8644f2572fd1e505364f7581e0c9dbc7f14640bd1fb6ce97714fb6fc5187",
  "Parent": "2cd9c322cb78a55e8212aa3ea8425a4180236d7106938ec921d0935a4b8ca142"
}
```

Get a list of changes between the filesystem layers specified by the `ID` and
`Parent`. If `Parent` is an empty string, there is no parent.

**Response**:
```json
{
  "Changes": [{}],
  "Err": ""
}
```

Respond with a list of changes. The structure of a change is:
```json
  "Path": "/some/path",
  "Kind": 0,
```

Where the `Path` is the filesystem path within the layered filesystem that is
changed and `Kind` is an integer specifying the type of change that occurred:

- 0 - Modified
- 1 - Added
- 2 - Deleted

Respond with a non-empty string error if an error occurred.

### /GraphDriver.ApplyDiff

**Request**:

```
{{ TAR STREAM }}
```

Extract the changeset from the given diff into the layer with the specified `ID`
and `Parent`

**Query Parameters**:

- id (required)- the `ID` of the new filesystem layer to extract the diff to
- parent (required)- the `Parent` of the given `ID`

**Response**:
```json
{
  "Size": 512366,
  "Err": ""
}
```

Respond with the size of the new layer in bytes.
Respond with a non-empty string error if an error occurred.

### /GraphDriver.DiffSize

**Request**:
```json
{
  "ID": "46fe8644f2572fd1e505364f7581e0c9dbc7f14640bd1fb6ce97714fb6fc5187",
  "Parent": "2cd9c322cb78a55e8212aa3ea8425a4180236d7106938ec921d0935a4b8ca142"
}
```

Calculate the changes between the specified `ID`

**Response**:
```json
{
  "Size": 512366,
  "Err": ""
}
```

Respond with the size changes between the specified `ID` and `Parent`
Respond with a non-empty string error if an error occurred.
