docker/cli · error

invalid rate for device: %s. The correct format is <device-p

Error message

invalid rate for device: %s. The correct format is <device-path>:<number>[<unit>]. Number must be a positive integer. Unit is optional and can be kb, mb, or gb

What it means

Error "invalid rate for device: %s. The correct format is <device-path>:<number>[<unit>]. Number must be a positive integer. Unit is optional and can be kb, mb, or gb" thrown in docker/cli.

Source

Thrown at opts/throttledevice.go:27

	"github.com/moby/moby/api/types/blkiodev"
)

// ValidatorThrottleFctType defines a validator function that returns a validated struct and/or an error.
type ValidatorThrottleFctType func(val string) (*blkiodev.ThrottleDevice, error)

// ValidateThrottleBpsDevice validates that the specified string has a valid device-rate format.
func ValidateThrottleBpsDevice(val string) (*blkiodev.ThrottleDevice, error) {
	k, v, ok := strings.Cut(val, ":")
	if !ok || k == "" {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("bad format: %s", val)
	}
	// TODO(thaJeztah): should we really validate this on the client?
	if !strings.HasPrefix(k, "/dev/") {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("bad format for device path: %s", val)
	}
	rate, err := units.RAMInBytes(v)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid rate for device: %s. The correct format is <device-path>:<number>[<unit>]. Number must be a positive integer. Unit is optional and can be kb, mb, or gb", val)
	}
	if rate < 0 {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid rate for device: %s. The correct format is <device-path>:<number>[<unit>]. Number must be a positive integer. Unit is optional and can be kb, mb, or gb", val)
	}

	return &blkiodev.ThrottleDevice{
		Path: k,
		Rate: uint64(rate),
	}, nil
}

// ValidateThrottleIOpsDevice validates that the specified string has a valid device-rate format.
func ValidateThrottleIOpsDevice(val string) (*blkiodev.ThrottleDevice, error) {
	k, v, ok := strings.Cut(val, ":")
	if !ok || k == "" {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("bad format: %s", val)
	}
	// TODO(thaJeztah): should we really validate this on the client?

View on GitHub (pinned to e9452d6e78)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at opts/throttledevice.go:27 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/f67b5fd6e6223495.json. Report an issue: GitHub.