docker/cli · error

network %s: network.external.name and network.name conflict;

Error message

network %s: network.external.name and network.name conflict; only use network.name

What it means

Error "network %s: network.external.name and network.name conflict; only use network.name" thrown in docker/cli.

Source

Thrown at cli/compose/loader/loader.go:554

	}
}

// LoadNetworks produces a NetworkConfig map from a compose file Dict
// the source Dict is not validated if directly used. Use Load() to enable validation
func LoadNetworks(source map[string]any, version string) (map[string]types.NetworkConfig, error) {
	networks := make(map[string]types.NetworkConfig)
	err := Transform(source, &networks)
	if err != nil {
		return networks, err
	}
	for name, nw := range networks {
		if !nw.External.External {
			continue
		}
		switch {
		case nw.External.Name != "":
			if nw.Name != "" {
				return nil, fmt.Errorf("network %s: network.external.name and network.name conflict; only use network.name", name)
			}
			if versions.GreaterThanOrEqualTo(version, "3.5") {
				logrus.Warnf("network %s: network.external.name is deprecated in favor of network.name", name)
			}
			nw.Name = nw.External.Name
			nw.External.Name = ""
		case nw.Name == "":
			nw.Name = name
		}
		nw.Extras = loadExtras(name, source)
		networks[name] = nw
	}
	return networks, nil
}

func externalVolumeError(volume, key string) error {
	return fmt.Errorf(`conflicting parameters "external" and %q specified for volume %q`, key, volume)
}

View on GitHub (pinned to e9452d6e78)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at cli/compose/loader/loader.go:554 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/5bfee1ac3ca43cd5.json. Report an issue: GitHub.