docker/cli · error

command %v did not exit after %v: stderr=%q

Error message

command %v did not exit after %v: stderr=%q

What it means

Error "command %v did not exit after %v: stderr=%q" thrown in docker/cli.

Source

Thrown at cli/connhelper/commandconn/commandconn.go:151

	c.cmdMutex.Lock()
	defer c.cmdMutex.Unlock()

	var werr error
	if c.cmdExited.Load() {
		werr = c.cmdWaitErr
	} else {
		werrCh := make(chan error)
		go func() { werrCh <- c.cmd.Wait() }()
		select {
		case werr = <-werrCh:
			c.cmdWaitErr = werr
			c.cmdExited.Store(true)
		case <-time.After(10 * time.Second):
			c.stderrMu.Lock()
			stderr := c.stderr.String()
			c.stderrMu.Unlock()
			return fmt.Errorf("command %v did not exit after %v: stderr=%q", c.cmd.Args, err, stderr)
		}
	}

	if werr == nil {
		return err
	}
	c.stderrMu.Lock()
	stderr := c.stderr.String()
	c.stderrMu.Unlock()
	return fmt.Errorf("command %v has exited with %v, make sure the URL is valid, and Docker 18.09 or later is installed on the remote host: stderr=%s", c.cmd.Args, werr, stderr)
}

func ignorableCloseError(err error) bool {
	return strings.Contains(err.Error(), os.ErrClosed.Error())
}

func (c *commandConn) Read(p []byte) (int, error) {
	n, err := c.stdout.Read(p)

View on GitHub (pinned to e9452d6e78)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at cli/connhelper/commandconn/commandconn.go:151 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/8d3cb7c8786e5587.json. Report an issue: GitHub.