docker/cli · error

failed to start containers: %s

Error message

failed to start containers: %s

What it means

Error "failed to start containers: %s" thrown in docker/cli.

Source

Thrown at cli/command/container/start.go:213

		// We're not going to attach to anything.
		// Start as many containers as we want.
		return startContainersWithoutAttachments(ctx, dockerCli, opts.Containers)
	}
}

func startContainersWithoutAttachments(ctx context.Context, dockerCli command.Cli, containers []string) error {
	var failedContainers []string
	for _, ctr := range containers {
		if _, err := dockerCli.Client().ContainerStart(ctx, ctr, client.ContainerStartOptions{}); err != nil {
			_, _ = fmt.Fprintln(dockerCli.Err(), err)
			failedContainers = append(failedContainers, ctr)
			continue
		}
		_, _ = fmt.Fprintln(dockerCli.Out(), ctr)
	}

	if len(failedContainers) > 0 {
		return fmt.Errorf("failed to start containers: %s", strings.Join(failedContainers, ", "))
	}
	return nil
}

View on GitHub (pinned to e9452d6e78)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at cli/command/container/start.go:213 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/83d7d5b7587dba71.json. Report an issue: GitHub.