docker/cli · error

invalid bind address format: %s

Error message

invalid bind address format: %s

What it means

Error "invalid bind address format: %s" thrown in docker/cli.

Source

Thrown at opts/hosts.go:75

	proto, host, hasProto := strings.Cut(addr, "://")
	if !hasProto && proto != "" {
		host = proto
		proto = "tcp"
	}

	switch proto {
	case "tcp":
		return ParseTCPAddr(host, defaultTCPHost)
	case "unix":
		return parseSimpleProtoAddr(proto, host, defaultUnixSocket)
	case "npipe":
		return parseSimpleProtoAddr(proto, host, defaultNamedPipe)
	case "fd":
		return addr, nil
	case "ssh":
		return addr, nil
	default:
		return "", fmt.Errorf("invalid bind address format: %s", addr)
	}
}

// parseSimpleProtoAddr parses and validates that the specified address is a valid
// socket address for simple protocols like unix and npipe. It returns a formatted
// socket address, either using the address parsed from addr, or the contents of
// defaultAddr if addr is a blank string.
func parseSimpleProtoAddr(proto, addr, defaultAddr string) (string, error) {
	addr = strings.TrimPrefix(addr, proto+"://")
	if strings.Contains(addr, "://") {
		return "", fmt.Errorf("invalid proto, expected %s: %s", proto, addr)
	}
	if addr == "" {
		addr = defaultAddr
	}
	return fmt.Sprintf("%s://%s", proto, addr), nil
}

View on GitHub (pinned to e9452d6e78)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at opts/hosts.go:75 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/f517390abe57bf0d.json. Report an issue: GitHub.