What causes "network prune has been cancelled" in docker/cli?

If you intend to prune, pass --force (-f) to skip the confirmation prompt.

network prune has been cancelled

Error message

network prune has been cancelled

What it means

Returned wrapped in a cancelledErr (which implements a Cancelled() marker method) from runPrune when the user answers 'no' to the interactive confirmation prompt and --force was not passed. This is not a real failure; it signals an intentional user cancellation of the destructive prune operation.

Solutions

If you intend to prune, pass --force (-f) to skip the confirmation prompt.
If cancellation was intentional, treat the non-zero exit as expected and ignore it in scripts.
Check the Cancelled() marker on the error to distinguish cancellation from real failures.

Example fix

# before
docker network prune   # then type n
# after
docker network prune --force

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

// In scripts, pass --force to avoid the prompt, or detect cancellation by marker
if !options.force {
    // confirm interactively yourself, then run with --force if confirmed
}

Try / catch

// Distinguish a user cancellation from a real error
err := runPrune(ctx, cli, opts)
if err != nil {
    var c cancelledErr
    if errors.As(err, &c) {
        // user declined; not a failure
        return nil
    }
    return err
}

Prevention

Use --force (-f) in automation to skip the confirmation entirely.
Detect the Cancelled() marker interface to treat cancellation as a non-error.
Do not pipe arbitrary input into the confirmation prompt.

When it happens

Trigger: Running 'docker network prune' without -f/--force and responding 'n' (or anything non-affirmative) at the 'Are you sure you want to continue?' prompt (lines 65-72).

Common situations: Scripted or interactive runs where the operator declines to delete unused networks; piping 'n' into the prompt; automation that forgot the --force flag.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of docker/cli@4f84911bfe (2026-08-07). Data as JSON: /api/errors/ce690ffc93a4b385. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at cli/command/network/prune.go:71

	flags.BoolVarP(&options.force, "force", "f", false, "Do not prompt for confirmation")
	flags.Var(&options.filter, "filter", `Provide filter values (e.g. "until=<timestamp>")`)

	return cmd
}

const warning = `WARNING! This will remove all custom networks not used by at least one container.
Are you sure you want to continue?`

func runPrune(ctx context.Context, dockerCli command.Cli, options pruneOptions) (output string, _ error) {
	pruneFilters := command.PruneFilters(dockerCli, options.filter.Value())

	if !options.force {
		r, err := prompt.Confirm(ctx, dockerCli.In(), dockerCli.Out(), warning)
		if err != nil {
			return "", err
		}
		if !r {
			return "", cancelledErr{errors.New("network prune has been cancelled")}
		}
	}

	res, err := dockerCli.Client().NetworkPrune(ctx, client.NetworkPruneOptions{
		Filters: pruneFilters,
	})
	if err != nil {
		return "", err
	}

	var out strings.Builder
	if len(res.Report.NetworksDeleted) > 0 {
		out.WriteString("Deleted Networks:\n")
		for _, id := range res.Report.NetworksDeleted {
			out.WriteString(id + "\n")
		}
	}

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