docker/cli · info · cancelledErr

container prune has been cancelled

Error message

container prune has been cancelled

What it means

Returned by runPrune in cli/command/container/prune.go when the interactive confirmation prompt for `docker container prune` is answered negatively. It is wrapped in cancelledErr (implementing a Cancelled() marker) so the CLI can distinguish a user-declined operation from a real failure; nothing was deleted.

Source

Thrown at cli/command/container/prune.go:74

	flags.BoolVarP(&options.force, "force", "f", false, "Do not prompt for confirmation")
	flags.Var(&options.filter, "filter", `Provide filter values (e.g. "until=<timestamp>")`)

	return cmd
}

const warning = `WARNING! This will remove all stopped containers.
Are you sure you want to continue?`

func runPrune(ctx context.Context, dockerCli command.Cli, options pruneOptions) (spaceReclaimed uint64, output string, _ error) {
	pruneFilters := command.PruneFilters(dockerCli, options.filter.Value())

	if !options.force {
		r, err := prompt.Confirm(ctx, dockerCli.In(), dockerCli.Out(), warning)
		if err != nil {
			return 0, "", err
		}
		if !r {
			return 0, "", cancelledErr{errors.New("container prune has been cancelled")}
		}
	}

	res, err := dockerCli.Client().ContainerPrune(ctx, client.ContainerPruneOptions{
		Filters: pruneFilters,
	})
	if err != nil {
		return 0, "", err
	}

	var out strings.Builder
	if len(res.Report.ContainersDeleted) > 0 {
		out.WriteString("Deleted Containers:\n")
		for _, id := range res.Report.ContainersDeleted {
			out.WriteString(id + "\n")
		}
		spaceReclaimed = res.Report.SpaceReclaimed
	}

View on GitHub (pinned to e9452d6e78)

Solutions

1. If the cancellation was unintended (scripts/CI), pass --force / -f to skip the confirmation prompt: docker container prune -f
2. If run interactively, answer 'y' at the prompt to proceed
3. Add --filter (e.g. until=24h) to narrow what would be pruned before confirming

Example fix

# before (hangs or cancels in CI)
docker container prune
# after
docker container prune --force --filter "until=24h"

When it happens

Trigger: Running `docker container prune` without --force and answering 'n' (or anything not affirmative) at the 'WARNING! This will remove all stopped containers' prompt; prompt.Confirm returning false, e.g. also when stdin is closed/non-interactive so the confirmation defaults to no.

Common situations: Running the command in CI, cron, or a script where no TTY/stdin is available so confirmation cannot be given; deliberately backing out after reading the warning; wrappers that pipe empty input into the command.

Related errors

• builder prune has been cancelled
• containers prune has been cancelled
• system prune has been cancelled
• volume prune has been cancelled
• conflicting options: cannot specify both --network-alias and

AI-assisted analysis of docker/cli@e9452d6e78 (2026-08-01). Data as JSON: /data/errors/ff4968474657e937.json. Report an issue: GitHub.