abiosoft/colima · error

error reinstalling Docker Model Runner: %w

Error message

error reinstalling Docker Model Runner: %w

What it means

SetupOrUpdateDocker runs guest.RunInteractive("docker","model","reinstall-runner") in the VM; a non-zero exit (including user Ctrl-C of the interactive install) yields this error. The reinstall downloads and redeploys the docker-model-runner container, so failures are usually download (network/registry), disk space, or unsupported docker CLI.

Source

Thrown at model/docker.go:120

		return nil, fmt.Errorf("error inspecting model %q: %w", modelName, err)
	}

	var info DockerModelInfo
	if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(strings.TrimSpace(output)), &info); err != nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("error parsing model info: %w", err)
	}

	return &info, nil
}

// SetupOrUpdateDocker reinstalls Docker Model Runner in the VM.
func SetupOrUpdateDocker() error {
	guest := lima.New(host.New())

	log.Println("reinstalling Docker Model Runner...")

	if err := guest.RunInteractive("docker", "model", "reinstall-runner"); err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("error reinstalling Docker Model Runner: %w", err)
	}

	log.Println("Docker Model Runner reinstalled")

	// Print installed version
	if version := GetDockerModelVersion(); version != "" {
		fmt.Println("Docker Model Runner")
		fmt.Printf("version: %s", version)
		fmt.Println()
	}

	return nil
}

// GetDockerModelVersion returns the Docker Model Runner version in the VM.
// Returns empty string if version cannot be determined.
func GetDockerModelVersion() string {
	guest := lima.New(host.New())

View on GitHub (pinned to c3a5f9184d)

Solutions

1. Run it manually to see the failure: colima ssh -- docker model reinstall-runner
2. Check network/proxy from inside the VM (docker pull hello-world) and configure HTTP_PROXY/DNS accordingly
3. Free disk space (docker system prune, remove unused models) and retry
4. Update Docker/colima so the 'docker model' subcommand exists, then re-run setup

if err := guest.RunInteractive("docker", "model", "reinstall-runner"); err != nil {
    return fmt.Errorf("error reinstalling Docker Model Runner: %w — run 'colima ssh -- docker model reinstall-runner' for details", err)
}

When it happens

Trigger: Offline or proxied network so the runner image cannot be pulled; VM disk full; docker in the VM too old to have 'model reinstall-runner'; aborting the interactive prompt; registry rate limits.

Common situations: Corporate proxies/firewalls blocking the registry; small colima disk after pulling several models; docker installed via an old colima runtime; flaky connections during setup.

Related errors

• no models available Pull a model first: colima model pull ai
• failed to read model manifest: %w
• failed to parse model manifest: %w
• failed to create bundle directory: %w
• failed to link model file: %w

AI-assisted analysis of abiosoft/colima@c3a5f9184d (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f00b59648344d706. Report an issue: GitHub.