GoogleContainerTools/skaffold · error

StatusCode_BUILD_DOCKER_GET_DIGEST_ERR

StatusCode_BUILD_DOCKER_GET_DIGEST_ERR

Error message

getting imageID for %s: %s

What it means

localDigestGetErr builds a structured skaffold error (code StatusCode_BUILD_DOCKER_GET_DIGEST_ERR) wrapping the failure to resolve the imageID for a tag via the local Docker daemon. ImageID calls it when ImageInspectWithRaw / digest lookup on the local daemon returns an error, meaning skaffold could not determine the digest/ID of the built or referenced image.

Source

Thrown at pkg/skaffold/docker/errors.go:35

package docker

import (
	"fmt"

	sErrors "github.com/GoogleContainerTools/skaffold/v2/pkg/skaffold/errors"
	"github.com/GoogleContainerTools/skaffold/v2/proto/v1"
)

func remoteDigestGetErr(err error) error {
	return sErrors.NewError(err,
		&proto.ActionableErr{
			Message: err.Error(),
			ErrCode: proto.StatusCode_BUILD_REGISTRY_GET_DIGEST_ERR,
		})
}

func localDigestGetErr(tag string, err error) error {
	err = fmt.Errorf("getting imageID for %s: %s", tag, err)
	return sErrors.NewError(err,
		&proto.ActionableErr{
			Message: err.Error(),
			ErrCode: proto.StatusCode_BUILD_DOCKER_GET_DIGEST_ERR,
		})
}

View on GitHub (pinned to a1189de023)

Solutions

1. Verify the image exists on the daemon skaffold is talking to: `docker images <tag>` under the same DOCKER_HOST/context.
2. Check Docker is running and reachable (`docker info`); restart Docker Desktop/daemon if unresponsive.
3. If using remote/remote-build setups, point DOCKER_HOST (or skaffold's docker config) at the daemon that holds the image.
4. Re-run the build so the image is recreated, then retry the digest lookup.

Example fix

// before: image only exists on remote daemon
$ skaffold dev  # -> getting imageID for gcr.io/app:v1: no such image

// after: target the daemon holding the image
$ export DOCKER_HOST=ssh://buildhost
$ skaffold dev

// Go: confirm the tag resolves locally before relying on ImageID
ctx := context.Background()
cli, _ := client.NewClientWithOpts(client.FromEnv, client.WithAPIVersionNegotiation())
if _, _, err := cli.ImageInspectWithRaw(ctx, tag); err != nil {
    return fmt.Errorf("image %s not present on this daemon (check DOCKER_HOST): %w", tag, err)
}

id, err := docker.ImageID(ctx, cfg, tag)
if err != nil {
    var sErr *sErrors.Error
    if errors.As(err, &sErr) && sErr.ErrCode == proto.StatusCode_BUILD_DOCKER_GET_DIGEST_ERR {
        time.Sleep(2 * time.Second)
        id, err = docker.ImageID(ctx, cfg, tag) // daemon may have been restarting
    }
    if err != nil {
        return fmt.Errorf("verify image exists on DOCKER_HOST=%s: %w", os.Getenv("DOCKER_HOST"), err)
    }
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling ImageID(ctx, cfg, tag) where the local daemon's image inspect fails: the image does not exist locally (e.g. pushed to remote and pruned locally), the tag string is malformed, the daemon is unreachable/restarting, or the daemon API call returns an unexpected error.

Common situations: Image built on a remote cluster/remote Docker host while skaffold inspects the local daemon; image pruned by `docker system prune` between build and digest lookup; Docker Desktop not running; wrong context (DOCKER_HOST pointing at a different daemon that lacks the image).

Related errors

• getting imageID for %q: %w
• pruning removed container: %w
• docker build: %w
• getting digest: %w
• loading image into docker daemon: %w

AI-assisted analysis of GoogleContainerTools/skaffold@a1189de023 (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/2f8059507bb0184e. Report an issue: GitHub.