docker/cli · error

undefined secret %q

Error message

undefined secret %q

What it means

Error "undefined secret %q" thrown in docker/cli.

Source

Thrown at cli/compose/convert/service.go:255

	sort.Slice(nets, func(i, j int) bool {
		return nets[i].Target < nets[j].Target
	})
	return nets, nil
}

// TODO: fix secrets API so that SecretAPIClient is not required here
func convertServiceSecrets(
	ctx context.Context,
	apiClient client.SecretAPIClient,
	namespace Namespace,
	secrets []composetypes.ServiceSecretConfig,
	secretSpecs map[string]composetypes.SecretConfig,
) ([]*swarm.SecretReference, error) {
	lookup := func(key string) (composetypes.FileObjectConfig, error) {
		secretSpec, exists := secretSpecs[key]
		if !exists {
			return composetypes.FileObjectConfig{}, fmt.Errorf("undefined secret %q", key)
		}
		return composetypes.FileObjectConfig(secretSpec), nil
	}

	refs := make([]*swarm.SecretReference, 0, len(secrets))
	for _, secret := range secrets {
		obj, err := convertFileObject(namespace, composetypes.FileReferenceConfig(secret), lookup)
		if err != nil {
			return nil, err
		}

		file := swarm.SecretReferenceFileTarget(obj.File)
		refs = append(refs, &swarm.SecretReference{
			File:       &file,
			SecretName: obj.Name,
		})
	}

View on GitHub (pinned to e9452d6e78)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at cli/compose/convert/service.go:255 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/52e86367b4aecb15.json. Report an issue: GitHub.