docker/cli · error

no remote command specified

Error message

no remote command specified

What it means

Error "no remote command specified" thrown in docker/cli.

Source

Thrown at cli/connhelper/ssh/ssh.go:148

	if err != nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid host: %w", err)
	}

	return append(args, "--", host), nil
}

// Command returns the ssh flags and arguments to execute a command
// (remoteCommandAndArgs) on the remote host. Where needed, it quotes
// values passed in remoteCommandAndArgs to account for ssh executing
// the remote command in a shell. It returns an error if no remote command
// is passed, or when unable to quote the remote command.
//
// Important: to preserve backward-compatibility, Command does not currently
// perform sanitization or quoting on the sshFlags and callers are expected
// to sanitize this argument.
func (sp *Spec) Command(sshFlags []string, remoteCommandAndArgs ...string) ([]string, error) {
	if len(remoteCommandAndArgs) == 0 {
		return nil, errors.New("no remote command specified")
	}
	sshArgs, err := sp.args(sshFlags...)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}
	remoteCommand, err := quoteCommand(remoteCommandAndArgs...)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}
	if remoteCommand != "" {
		sshArgs = append(sshArgs, remoteCommand)
	}
	return sshArgs, nil
}

// quoteCommand returns the remote command to run using the ssh connection
// as a single string, quoting values where needed because ssh executes
// these in a POSIX shell.

View on GitHub (pinned to e9452d6e78)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at cli/connhelper/ssh/ssh.go:148 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/395e7a12266b2325.json. Report an issue: GitHub.