hook template contains too many messages (%d): maximum is %d

Error message

hook template contains too many messages (%d): maximum is %d

What it means

Error "hook template contains too many messages (%d): maximum is %d" thrown in docker/cli.

Source

Thrown at cli-plugins/hooks/template.go:44

			"flagValue": msgContext.flagValue,
			"argValue":  msgContext.argValue,

			// kept for backward-compatibility with old templates.
			"flag": func(_ any, flagName string) (string, error) { return msgContext.flagValue(flagName) },
			"arg":  func(_ any, i int) (string, error) { return msgContext.argValue(i) },
		}).Parse(hookTemplate)
		if err != nil {
			return nil, err
		}
		var b bytes.Buffer
		err = tmpl.Execute(&b, msgContext)
		if err != nil {
			return nil, err
		}
		out = b.String()
	}
	if n := strings.Count(out, "\n"); n > maxMessages {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("hook template contains too many messages (%d): maximum is %d", n, maxMessages)
	}
	return strings.SplitN(out, "\n", maxMessages), nil
}

var ErrHookTemplateParse = errors.New("failed to parse hook template")

// commandInfo provides info about the command for which the hook was invoked.
// It is used for templated hook-messages.
type commandInfo struct {
	cmd *cobra.Command
}

// Name returns the name of the (sub)command for which the hook was invoked.
//
// It's used for backward-compatibility with old templates.
func (c commandInfo) Name() string {
	return c.command()
}

View on GitHub (pinned to e9452d6e78)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at cli-plugins/hooks/template.go:44 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/94c914aa35b53f6d.json. Report an issue: GitHub.