invalid generic-resource format `%s` expected `name=value`

Error message

invalid generic-resource format `%s` expected `name=value`

What it means

Error "invalid generic-resource format `%s` expected `name=value`" thrown in docker/cli.

Source

Thrown at cli/command/service/generic_resource_opts.go:21

import (
	"fmt"
	"strings"

	"github.com/docker/cli/cli/command/service/internal/genericresource"
	"github.com/moby/moby/api/types/swarm"
)

// GenericResource is a concept that a user can use to advertise user-defined
// resources on a node and thus better place services based on these resources.
// E.g: NVIDIA GPUs, Intel FPGAs, ...
// See https://github.com/moby/swarmkit/blob/de950a7ed842c7b7e47e9451cde9bf8f96031894/design/generic_resources.md

// ValidateSingleGenericResource validates that a single entry in the
// generic resource list is valid.
// i.e 'GPU=UID1' is valid however 'GPU:UID1' or 'UID1' isn't
func ValidateSingleGenericResource(val string) (string, error) {
	if strings.Count(val, "=") < 1 {
		return "", fmt.Errorf("invalid generic-resource format `%s` expected `name=value`", val)
	}

	return val, nil
}

// ParseGenericResources parses an array of Generic resourceResources
// Requesting Named Generic Resources for a service is not supported this
// is filtered here.
func ParseGenericResources(value []string) ([]swarm.GenericResource, error) {
	if len(value) == 0 {
		return nil, nil
	}

	swarmResources, err := genericresource.Parse(value)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid generic resource specification: %w", err)
	}

View on GitHub (pinned to e9452d6e78)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at cli/command/service/generic_resource_opts.go:21 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/49d6731dba222a86.json. Report an issue: GitHub.