docker/cli · error

invalid output path: directory %q does not exist

Error message

invalid output path: directory %q does not exist

What it means

Error "invalid output path: directory %q does not exist" thrown in docker/cli.

Source

Thrown at cli/command/utils.go:66

			// "label != some-value" conflicts with "label = some-value"
			if pruneFilters["label"][v] {
				continue
			}
			pruneFilters.Add(k, v)
		default:
			pruneFilters.Add(k, v)
		}
	}

	return pruneFilters
}

// ValidateOutputPath validates the output paths of the "docker cp" command.
func ValidateOutputPath(path string) error {
	dir := filepath.Dir(filepath.Clean(path))
	if dir != "" && dir != "." {
		if _, err := os.Stat(dir); os.IsNotExist(err) {
			return fmt.Errorf("invalid output path: directory %q does not exist", dir)
		}
	}
	// check whether `path` points to a regular file
	// (if the path exists and doesn't point to a directory)
	if fileInfo, err := os.Stat(path); !os.IsNotExist(err) {
		if err != nil {
			return err
		}

		if fileInfo.Mode().IsDir() || fileInfo.Mode().IsRegular() {
			return nil
		}

		if err := ValidateOutputPathFileMode(fileInfo.Mode()); err != nil {
			return fmt.Errorf("invalid output path: %q must be a directory or a regular file: %w", path, err)
		}
	}
	return nil

View on GitHub (pinned to e9452d6e78)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at cli/command/utils.go:66 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/29cebc9a19e91097.json. Report an issue: GitHub.