abiosoft/colima · error

%s is not running

Error message

%s is not running

What it means

validateCommonPrerequisites runs before every colima model operation and first asserts the VM is up; a.Active() returned false and the current profile's DisplayName is interpolated into the message. No model-layer operation can proceed while the VM is stopped.

Source

Thrown at model/runner.go:87

}

// GetRunner returns the appropriate Runner based on type.
func GetRunner(runnerType RunnerType) (Runner, error) {
	switch runnerType {
	case RunnerDocker:
		return &dockerRunner{}, nil
	case RunnerRamalama:
		return &ramalamaRunner{}, nil
	default:
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("unknown runner type: %s (valid options: docker, ramalama)", runnerType)
	}
}

// validateCommonPrerequisites checks prerequisites common to all runners.
func validateCommonPrerequisites(a app.App) error {
	// VM must be running
	if !a.Active() {
		return fmt.Errorf("%s is not running", config.CurrentProfile().DisplayName)
	}

	// check runtime is docker
	r, err := a.Runtime()
	if err != nil {
		return err
	}
	if r != docker.Name {
		return fmt.Errorf("'colima model' requires docker runtime, current runtime is %s\n"+
			"Start colima with: colima start --runtime docker --vm-type krunkit", r)
	}

	// check VM type is krunkit (required for GPU access)
	conf, err := configmanager.LoadInstance()
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("error loading instance config: %w", err)
	}
	if conf.VMType != limaconfig.Krunkit {

View on GitHub (pinned to c3a5f9184d)

Solutions

1. Start the VM and retry: colima start (model commands additionally need --runtime docker --vm-type krunkit)
2. Check state first: colima status — wait until it reports running
3. If colima start itself fails, fix that first; the model layer cannot bring the VM up

// caller-side pre-check mirroring the first prerequisite
if !a.Active() {
	if err := a.Start(false); err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("cannot start VM: %w", err)
	}
}
return runner.ValidatePrerequisites(a)

When it happens

Trigger: Executing any colima model subcommand (list/run/pull/status) while the VM is stopped, still starting, or suspended.

Common situations: Machines after reboot without colima autostart; CI steps that forget colima start; commands issued seconds after start before the VM reports active.

Related errors

• dependency check failed for VM: %w
• error retrieving current runtime: empty value
• runtime cannot be updated, %s is not running
• %s is not enabled
• error stopping :%w

AI-assisted analysis of abiosoft/colima@c3a5f9184d (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/64e5883d121b5721. Report an issue: GitHub.