> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.fly.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Add volume storage to a Fly Launch app
Fly Volumes are local persistent storage for [Fly Machines](/machines).
Learn more:
* [How Fly Volumes work](/volumes/overview)
* [How to manage volumes with flyctl commands](/volumes/volume-manage)
* [How to manage volume snapshots (backups)](/volumes/snapshots)
## Launch a new app with a Fly Volume
Use [Fly Launch](/launch/index) to create a new app with one Machine and an attached volume, and then clone the Machine to scale out.
1. Launch a new app from your project source directory with the `--no-deploy` option so it doesn't deploy automatically. Include any required options for deploying your app, like `--image` or `--dockerfile`.
```bash theme={null}
fly launch --no-deploy
```
`fly launch` creates a `fly.toml` app configuration file in your project source directory.
2. After the app is created, add a [`[mounts]` section](/reference/configuration#the-mounts-section) in the `fly.toml`, where `source` is the volume name and `destination` is the directory where the volume should be mounted on the Machine file system. For example:
```toml theme={null}
[mounts]
source = "myapp_data"
destination = "/data"
```
**Note:** You can't mount a volume with `destination="/"` since `/` is used for the root file system.
3. Deploy the app:
```bash theme={null}
fly deploy
```
4. [Confirm that the volume is attached to a Machine](#confirm-the-volume-is-attached-to-a-machine).
5. (Recommended only if your app handles replication) Clone the first Machine to scale out to two Machines with volumes:
```bash theme={null}
fly machine clone
```
List volumes to check the result:
```bash theme={null}
fly volumes list
```
Example output showing two volumes with attached Machines:
```out theme={null}
ID STATE NAME SIZE REGION ZONE ENCRYPTED ATTACHED VM CREATED AT
vol_ez1nvxkwl3jrmxl7 created data 1GB lhr 4de2 true 91851edb6ee983 39 seconds ago
vol_zmjnv8m81p5rywgx created data 1GB lhr b6a7 true 5683606c41098e 7 minutes ago
```
**Warning:** `fly machine clone` doesn't write data into the new volume.
## Add volumes to an existing app
Add a volume to an app created with [Fly Launch](/launch/index).
1. Add a [`[mounts]` section](/reference/configuration#the-mounts-section) in the app's `fly.toml`, where `source` is the volume name and `destination` is the directory where the volume should be mounted on the Machine file system. For example:
```toml theme={null}
[mounts]
source = "myapp_data"
destination = "/data"
```
2. Run `fly status` to check the [regions](/reference/regions) of the Machines and then create the volume in the same regions as your app's Machines. For example:
```bash theme={null}
fly volumes create -r
```
3. Repeat step 2 for each Machine in the process group. If you create an app using the `fly launch` command, then the app will usually have two Machines in the `app` process by default.
**Note:** If you have multiple Machines, then you need to create an equal number of volumes with the same name. For example, your app's `[mounts]` config specifies `source="myapp_data"` and you have three Machines in `bos` (Boston), then you need to create three volumes named `myapp_data` in `bos`. Every volume has a unique ID to allow for multiple volumes with the same name.
4. Deploy the app:
```bash theme={null}
fly deploy
```
5. [Confirm that the volume is attached to a Machine](#confirm-the-volume-is-attached-to-a-machine).
## Confirm the volume is attached to a Machine
Use flyctl to check the status of volumes and Machines.
### List the Machines
List Machines to check attached volumes:
```bash theme={null}
fly machine list
```
Example output:
```out theme={null}
1 machines have been retrieved from app my-app-name.
View them in the UI here
my-app-name
ID NAME STATE REGION IMAGE IP ADDRESS VOLUME CREATED LAST UPDATED APP PLATFORM PROCESS GROUP SIZE
328773d3c47d85 my-app-name stopped yul flyio/myimageex:latest fdaa:2:45b:a7b:19c:bbd4:95bb:2 vol_6vjywx86ym8mq3xv 2023-08-20T23:09:24Z 2023-08-20T23:16:15Z v2 app shared-cpu-1x:256MB
```
### List the volumes
List volumes to check attached Machines:
```bash theme={null}
fly volumes list
```
Example output:
```out theme={null}
ID STATE NAME SIZE REGION ZONE ENCRYPTED ATTACHED VM CREATED AT
vol_zmjnv8m81p5rywgx created data 1GB lhr b6a7 true 5683606c41098e 3 minutes ago
```
### SSH into the Machine
View the volume in the Machine file system:
```bash theme={null}
fly ssh console -s -C df
```
Example output showing a 1GB volume mounted at `/data`:
```out theme={null}
? Select VM: lhr: 5683606c41098e fdaa:0:3b99:a7b:7e:3155:9844:2 nameless-feather-6339
Connecting to fdaa:0:3b99:a7b:7e:3155:9844:2... complete
Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on
devtmpfs 103068 0 103068 0% /dev
/dev/vda 8191416 172748 7582856 3% /
shm 113224 0 113224 0% /dev/shm
tmpfs 113224 0 113224 0% /sys/fs/cgroup
/dev/vdb 1011672 2564 940500 1% /data
```
The volume is mounted in the directory specified by the `destination` field in the `[mounts]` section of the `fly.toml` file, or the `attach-volume` option for cloned Machines.
## Access a volume
Access and write to a volume on a Machine just like a regular directory.
For Machines managed with Fly Launch, the `destination` under `[mounts]` in `fly.toml` is the path for the mounted volumes.
For unmanaged Machines, you specify the mount path when you [add a volume to a cloned Machine](#add-a-volume-to-an-unmanaged-machine) or [create a Machine and attach a volume](/machines/flyctl/fly-machine-run#mount-a-fly-volume).
## Related topics
* [Fly Volumes overview](/volumes/overview)
* [`mounts` section](/reference/configuration#the-mounts-section) in the `fly.toml` app configuration file
* [Create and manage volumes](/volumes/volume-manage)
* [Manage volume snapshots](/volumes/snapshots)
* [Scale an app with volumes](/launch/scale-count#scale-an-app-with-volumes)