docker-errors-build
Quick Reference
Build Error Debugging Workflow
Build fails
|
+-- Read the FULL error message (use --progress=plain for details)
|
+-- Identify error category:
| |
| +-- "file not found" / "checksum" --> COPY/ADD path issue (see 1.1)
| +-- "context" / "sending build context" slow --> Context too large (see 1.2)
| +-- Rebuilds unexpectedly --> Cache invalidation (see 1.3)
| +-- "mount" errors --> BuildKit mount config (see 1.4)
| +-- "invalid stage" / "not found" --> Multi-stage reference (see 1.5)
| +-- "pull access denied" / "manifest unknown" --> Base image (see 1.6)
| +-- "exec format error" --> Platform mismatch (see 1.7)
| +-- Variable empty / missing --> ARG scope issue (see 1.8)
| +-- "permission denied" --> Build permission (see 1.9)
| +-- "parse error" / "unknown instruction" --> Syntax error (see 1.10)
|
+-- Apply fix from diagnostic table
|
+-- Rebuild with: docker build --progress=plain --no-cache .
Critical Warnings
ALWAYS use --progress=plain when debugging build failures -- the default TTY output hides important error details.
ALWAYS check .dockerignore first when files appear missing during COPY or ADD -- this is the #1 cause of "file not found" errors.
NEVER use --no-cache as a permanent fix for cache problems -- find and fix the root cause of cache invalidation instead.
NEVER put secrets in ARG or ENV instructions -- they persist in image history. ALWAYS use RUN --mount=type=secret.
1. Diagnostic Tables
1.1 COPY/ADD File Not Found
| Error Message |
Cause |
Fix |
COPY failed: file not found in build context |
File is outside the build context directory |
Move file into the build context or restructure with docker build -f path/Dockerfile context/ |
COPY failed: file not found in build context |
File is excluded by .dockerignore |
Remove or adjust the .dockerignore pattern |
failed to compute cache key: failed to calculate checksum of ref |
COPY source path does not exist relative to build context root |
Verify path with ls from the build context directory. Paths are relative to context, NOT Dockerfile location |
COPY failed: no source files were specified |
Glob pattern matches zero files |
Check wildcard pattern. Verify files exist: ls <pattern> from context root |
ADD failed: file not found in build context |
Same causes as COPY |
Same fixes as COPY. ALWAYS prefer COPY over ADD for local files |
Debugging command:
# List what the builder actually sees in the context
docker build --progress=plain -f Dockerfile . 2>&1 | head -5
# Shows: "sending build context to Docker daemon X.XXkB"
# Check .dockerignore effect
cat .dockerignore
1.2 Build Context Too Large
| Error Message |
Cause |
Fix |
sending build context to Docker daemon takes minutes |
No .dockerignore or large files in context |
Create .dockerignore excluding node_modules/, .git/, build artifacts |
| Context exceeds available memory |
Extremely large context (multi-GB) |
Use .dockerignore. Use --file with a smaller context path. Use multi-stage builds with bind mounts |
ALWAYS create a .dockerignore file. Without it, the ENTIRE directory tree is sent to the daemon, including node_modules/ (500MB+), .git/ (entire history), and build artifacts.
1.3 Unexpected Cache Invalidation
| Symptom |
Cause |
Fix |
npm install reruns on every build |
COPY . . before RUN npm install |
Copy package.json and lockfile FIRST, install, THEN copy source |
apt-get install gets stale packages |
apt-get update in a separate RUN layer |
ALWAYS combine: RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y pkg |
| Layer rebuilds after unrelated file change |
COPY instruction too broad |
Copy only the files needed for each step. Order from least to most frequently changed |
| Cache never hits in CI |
No cache backend configured |
Use --cache-from and --cache-to with registry or GHA backend |
| RUN layer rebuilds despite identical command |
Previous layer was invalidated |
Check ALL preceding layers -- cache invalidation cascades downward |
1.4 BuildKit Mount Errors
| Error Message |
Cause |
Fix |
failed to create LLB definition: rpc error: unknown flag: --mount |
Missing # syntax=docker/dockerfile:1 directive |
Add # syntax=docker/dockerfile:1 as the FIRST line of the Dockerfile |
failed to create LLB definition: rpc error: unknown flag: --mount |
BuildKit not enabled (pre-Engine 23) |
Set DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 or upgrade Docker Engine to 23+ |
failed to solve: failed to mount cache target |
Cache directory permissions or path issue |
Verify target path. Add uid and gid options if running as non-root |
error: secret "X" not found |
Secret not passed to build command |
Add --secret id=X,src=path to docker build command |
could not parse ssh: [default]: stat /nonexistent: no such file |
SSH agent not running or key not added |
Run eval $(ssh-agent) and ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_rsa before build |
inconsistent result from cache mount |
Concurrent builds with sharing=shared on apt |
Use sharing=locked for apt cache mounts |
1.5 Multi-Stage Reference Errors
| Error Message |
Cause |
Fix |
invalid from flag value X: invalid reference format |
Stage name contains uppercase or invalid characters |
Use lowercase alphanumeric names with hyphens only |
failed to solve: X: not found in COPY --from=X |
Stage name does not exist or is misspelled |
Verify the AS name in the FROM instruction matches exactly |
invalid stage index: N |
Numeric --from=N references a non-existent stage |
Use named stages (AS build) instead of numeric indexes |
circular dependency detected |
Stage A copies from stage B which copies from A |
Restructure stages to eliminate circular references |
1.6 Base Image Pull Failures
| Error Message |
Cause |
Fix |
pull access denied for X, repository does not exist |
Image name misspelled or does not exist |
Verify image name on Docker Hub or registry. Check for typos |
manifest unknown: manifest unknown |
Tag does not exist for this image |
Verify tag with docker manifest inspect image:tag |
unauthorized: authentication required |
Private registry requires login |
Run docker login <registry> before building |
error pulling image configuration: download failed after attempts |
Network issue or registry timeout |
Check network connectivity. Retry. Use --pull to force fresh pull |
toomanyrequests: You have reached your pull rate limit |
Docker Hub rate limit exceeded |
Authenticate with docker login (free accounts get higher limits). Use a registry mirror |
1.7 Platform Mismatch
| Error Message |
Cause |
Fix |
exec format error |
Image built for wrong CPU architecture |
Add --platform linux/amd64 (or target arch) to build command |
image with reference X does not match the specified platform |
Pulled image has no manifest for requested platform |
Check available platforms: docker manifest inspect image:tag. Build for available platform |
no match for platform in manifest list |
Multi-platform image lacks requested platform |
Use a different base image that supports your platform |
1.8 ARG Scope Issues
| Symptom |
Cause |
Fix |
| ARG value is empty inside build stage |
ARG declared before FROM but not re-declared after |
Re-declare ARG varname (without default) after each FROM that needs it |
| ARG value not available at runtime |
ARG is build-time only, not persisted |
Convert to ENV: ARG VAR then ENV VAR=$VAR if needed at runtime |
| Variable expansion not working in RUN |
Using exec form RUN ["echo", "$VAR"] |
Exec form does NOT expand variables. Use shell form: RUN echo $VAR |
| ENV set incorrectly using prior ENV value |
Same-line ENV precedence |
ENV a=bye b=$a uses a's value from BEFORE this line. Split into separate ENV instructions if needed |
1.9 Permission Errors During Build
| Error Message |
Cause |
Fix |
permission denied in RUN instruction |
Running as non-root USER before installing packages |
Place package installation BEFORE the USER instruction |
EACCES: permission denied writing to directory |
Directory owned by root, running as non-root |
Add RUN chown -R user:group /dir BEFORE switching to USER |
permission denied on COPY'd script |
Script lacks execute permission |
Add COPY --chmod=755 script.sh /app/ or RUN chmod +x /app/script.sh |
open /var/lib/apt/lists/lock: permission denied |
Running apt as non-root user |
Run apt commands BEFORE USER instruction, or use --mount=type=cache with correct uid/gid |
1.10 Dockerfile Syntax Errors
| Error Message |
Cause |
Fix |
failed to solve: dockerfile parse error on line X: unknown instruction: XXX |
Misspelled instruction or wrong case |
Instructions MUST be uppercase: RUN, COPY, FROM, not run, copy, from |
failed to solve: dockerfile parse error: missing FROM |
No FROM instruction or FROM not first |
FROM MUST be the first instruction (after parser directives and ARG) |
| Unexpected behavior with multi-line RUN |
Missing \ continuation character |
End each continued line with \. NEVER leave trailing spaces after \ |
failed to process "Dockerfile": no parser directive, file is empty |
BOM character or wrong encoding |
Save Dockerfile as UTF-8 without BOM. Remove invisible characters |
COPY requires at least two arguments |
Missing destination argument |
COPY needs <src> <dest>. Add trailing / for directories: COPY files/ /app/ |
2. Decision Trees
Which Cache Strategy to Use
Problem: Build is slow
|
+-- Dependencies reinstall every time?
| YES --> Reorder: copy lockfile first, install, then copy source
|
+-- Package downloads repeat?
| YES --> Add --mount=type=cache for your package manager
|
+-- CI builds have no cache?
| YES --> Configure --cache-from/--cache-to with registry backend
|
+-- Base image pulls every time?
| YES --> Pin base image digest. Use --cache-from=type=registry
|
+-- Entire Dockerfile rebuilds?
YES --> Check if early layer changed. Order: system deps > app deps > source
When to Use --no-cache vs --no-cache-filter
Need to force rebuild?
|
+-- Entire image from scratch?
| --> docker build --no-cache .
|
+-- Only specific stage?
| --> docker build --no-cache-filter=<stage-name> .
|
+-- Fresh base image only?
| --> docker build --pull .
|
+-- Everything fresh (CI release build)?
--> docker build --pull --no-cache .
3. Essential Debug Commands
# Full build output (ALWAYS use this when debugging)
docker build --progress=plain .
# Build specific stage only
docker build --target <stage-name> .
# Check what the build context contains
tar -czf - -C <context-dir> . | wc -c
# Inspect build cache usage
docker system df
docker builder prune --filter type=regular
docker builder prune -a # Remove ALL build cache
# Check image layers and sizes
docker history <image>
docker history --no-trunc <image>
# Verify platform of an image
docker inspect --format='{{.Os}}/{{.Architecture}}' <image>
# Check .dockerignore is working
# (compare context size with and without .dockerignore)
Reference Links
Official Sources
