docker/cli · error

invalid named reference bytes: %s: %w

Error message

invalid named reference bytes: %s: %w

What it means

Error "invalid named reference bytes: %s: %w" thrown in docker/cli.

Source

Thrown at cli/manifest/types/types.go:144

	return ImageManifest{
		Ref:         &SerializableNamed{Named: ref},
		Descriptor:  desc,
		Raw:         raw,
		OCIManifest: manifest,
	}
}

// SerializableNamed is a reference.Named that can be serialized and deserialized
// from JSON
type SerializableNamed struct {
	reference.Named
}

// UnmarshalJSON loads the Named reference from JSON bytes
func (s *SerializableNamed) UnmarshalJSON(b []byte) error {
	var raw string
	if err := json.Unmarshal(b, &raw); err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("invalid named reference bytes: %s: %w", b, err)
	}
	var err error
	s.Named, err = reference.ParseNamed(raw)
	return err
}

// MarshalJSON returns the JSON bytes representation
func (s *SerializableNamed) MarshalJSON() ([]byte, error) {
	return json.Marshal(s.String())
}

View on GitHub (pinned to e9452d6e78)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at cli/manifest/types/types.go:144 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/18a111c0c58daa27.json. Report an issue: GitHub.