docker/cli · error

unknown help topic: %v

Error message

unknown help topic: %v

What it means

Error "unknown help topic: %v" thrown in docker/cli.

Source

Thrown at cli/cobra.go:177

	return cmd, flags.Args(), nil
}

// Initialize finalises global option parsing and initializes the docker client.
func (tcmd *TopLevelCommand) Initialize(ops ...command.CLIOption) error {
	tcmd.opts.SetDefaultOptions(tcmd.flags)
	return tcmd.dockerCli.Initialize(tcmd.opts, ops...)
}

var helpCommand = &cobra.Command{
	Use:               "help [command]",
	Short:             "Help about the command",
	PersistentPreRun:  func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {},
	PersistentPostRun: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {},
	RunE: func(c *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
		cmd, args, e := c.Root().Find(args)
		if cmd == nil || e != nil || len(args) > 0 {
			return fmt.Errorf("unknown help topic: %v", strings.Join(args, " "))
		}
		helpFunc := cmd.HelpFunc()
		helpFunc(cmd, args)
		return nil
	},
}

func isExperimental(cmd *cobra.Command) bool {
	if _, ok := cmd.Annotations["experimentalCLI"]; ok {
		return true
	}
	var experimental bool
	cmd.VisitParents(func(cmd *cobra.Command) {
		if _, ok := cmd.Annotations["experimentalCLI"]; ok {
			experimental = true
		}
	})
	return experimental

View on GitHub (pinned to e9452d6e78)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at cli/cobra.go:177 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/cd3cba22dff26443.json. Report an issue: GitHub.