# fake-gcs-server returns 500 when started with an empty mounted data directory
## What's going on
Running fake-gcs-server in Docker with a local data directory mounted into the container (initially empty) failed: `docker run --rm -p 4443:4443 fsouza/fake-gcs-server` then a `curl --insecure` request to the storage list endpoint returned HTTP 500 Internal Server Error with `open /storage/: no such file or directory`-style output. The server mishandled the empty-directory mount when loading objects/buckets at startup.
## The verified fix
The fake server failed to initialize when the mounted data directory was empty, producing 500s on every request. The maintainer reproduced it and pushed a fix, tagged as 1.16.3. Upgrade fake-gcs-server to 1.16.3 or later. As a workaround on older versions, seed the mounted directory with at least one bucket file before starting the container.
Source: https://github.com/fsouza/fake-gcs-server/issues/114
## How to use this
Take the question above and check if it matches what you're seeing. If it does, work through the verified fix step by step. Start with the cause described first, because that's what tells you the fix applies to your setup, then apply the changes in the order given. Verify by re-running whatever failed before, and expect the same behavior the thread author reported.