docker: unknown command: docker %s Run 'docker --help' for

Error message

docker: unknown command: docker %s

Run 'docker --help' for more information

What it means

Error "docker: unknown command: docker %s Run 'docker --help' for more information" thrown in docker/cli.

Source

Thrown at cmd/docker/docker.go:152

}

func newDockerCommand(dockerCli *command.DockerCli) *cli.TopLevelCommand {
	var (
		opts    *cliflags.ClientOptions
		helpCmd *cobra.Command
	)

	cmd := &cobra.Command{
		Use:              "docker [OPTIONS] COMMAND [ARG...]",
		Short:            "A self-sufficient runtime for containers",
		SilenceUsage:     true,
		SilenceErrors:    true,
		TraverseChildren: true,
		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
			if len(args) == 0 {
				return command.ShowHelp(dockerCli.Err())(cmd, args)
			}
			return fmt.Errorf("docker: unknown command: docker %s\n\nRun 'docker --help' for more information", args[0])
		},
		PersistentPreRunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
			return isSupported(cmd, dockerCli)
		},
		Version:               fmt.Sprintf("%s, build %s", version.Version, version.GitCommit),
		DisableFlagsInUseLine: true,
		CompletionOptions: cobra.CompletionOptions{
			DisableDefaultCmd:   false,
			HiddenDefaultCmd:    true,
			DisableDescriptions: os.Getenv("DOCKER_CLI_DISABLE_COMPLETION_DESCRIPTION") != "",
		},
	}

	// Disable file-completion by default. Most commands and flags should not
	// complete with filenames.
	cmd.CompletionOptions.SetDefaultShellCompDirective(cobra.ShellCompDirectiveNoFileComp)

	cmd.SetIn(dockerCli.In())

View on GitHub (pinned to e9452d6e78)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at cmd/docker/docker.go:152 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/9c4f13542d21fec9.json. Report an issue: GitHub.