docker/cli · error

bad format for links: %s

Error message

bad format for links: %s

What it means

Error "bad format for links: %s" thrown in docker/cli.

Source

Thrown at opts/opts.go:381

	}
	nano := cpu.Mul(cpu, big.NewRat(1e9, 1))
	if !nano.IsInt() {
		return 0, errors.New("value is too precise")
	}
	return nano.Num().Int64(), nil
}

// ParseLink parses and validates the specified string as a link format (name:alias)
func ParseLink(val string) (string, string, error) {
	if val == "" {
		return "", "", errors.New("empty string specified for links")
	}
	// We expect two parts, but restrict to three to allow detecting invalid formats.
	arr := strings.SplitN(val, ":", 3)

	// TODO(thaJeztah): clean up this logic!!
	if len(arr) > 2 {
		return "", "", errors.New("bad format for links: " + val)
	}
	// TODO(thaJeztah): this should trim the "/" prefix as well??
	if len(arr) == 1 {
		return val, val, nil
	}
	// This is kept because we can actually get a HostConfig with links
	// from an already created container and the format is not `foo:bar`
	// but `/foo:/c1/bar`
	if strings.HasPrefix(arr[0], "/") {
		// TODO(thaJeztah): clean up this logic!!
		_, alias := path.Split(arr[1])
		return arr[0][1:], alias, nil
	}
	return arr[0], arr[1], nil
}

// ValidateLink validates that the specified string has a valid link format (containerName:alias).
func ValidateLink(val string) (string, error) {

View on GitHub (pinned to e9452d6e78)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at opts/opts.go:381 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/36e6d590aa086350.json. Report an issue: GitHub.