gitlab-development-kit | Get started with GitLab Rails development | Continuous Deployment library

Permission problems with a host volume (bind mounted directory into the container) happen when the permissions and ownership on the files at the host, typically the UID, do not match those used inside the container itself. You'll need to either adjust the user used inside the container, change the permissions of the files on the host, or both.

Another possible problem is using Docker for Windows or Docker for Mac and using a directory that isn't shared with the embedded VM. The volume mount will result in an empty folder in those cases. By default, /Users is shared with the VM in both of these products.

Note that this issue is fairly typical and the reason I try to use named volumes using docker's "local" driver when possible. Named volumes initialize to the contents of the image, including the file permissions, and you can manage them by using a separate management container that mounts the same volume for any changes you need to make (e.g. a simple busybox container running a tar -xzf to update the contents).

Edit: here's an example of editing a file from inside the container