%[1]s: unknown command: %[2]s %[3]s Usage: %[4]s Run '%[2

Error message

%[1]s: unknown command: %[2]s %[3]s

Usage:  %[4]s

Run '%[2]s --help' for more information

What it means

Error "%[1]s: unknown command: %[2]s %[3]s Usage: %[4]s Run '%[2]s --help' for more information" thrown in docker/cli.

Source

Thrown at cli/required.go:16

package cli

import (
	"fmt"

	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
)

// NoArgs validates args and returns an error if there are any args
func NoArgs(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
	if len(args) == 0 {
		return nil
	}

	if cmd.HasSubCommands() {
		return fmt.Errorf(
			"%[1]s: unknown command: %[2]s %[3]s\n\nUsage:  %[4]s\n\nRun '%[2]s --help' for more information",
			binName(cmd),
			cmd.CommandPath(),
			args[0],
			cmd.UseLine(),
		)
	}

	return fmt.Errorf(
		"%[1]s: '%[2]s' accepts no arguments\n\nUsage:  %[3]s\n\nRun '%[2]s --help' for more information",
		binName(cmd),
		cmd.CommandPath(),
		cmd.UseLine(),
	)
}

// RequiresMinArgs returns an error if there is not at least min args
func RequiresMinArgs(minArgs int) cobra.PositionalArgs {

View on GitHub (pinned to e9452d6e78)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at cli/required.go:16 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of docker/cli@e9452d6e78 (2026-08-01). Data as JSON: /data/errors/5b0314fdcb6ad6c9.json. Report an issue: GitHub.