docker/cli · info · cancelledErr

volume prune has been cancelled

Error message

volume prune has been cancelled

What it means

Returned by docker CLI's `docker volume prune` (runPrune in cli/command/volume/prune.go) when the interactive confirmation prompt is answered with anything other than yes. The error is wrapped in cancelledErr, which implements a Cancelled() marker interface so the CLI can exit without treating it as a hard failure. It exists to make user-declined prunes distinguishable from real errors.

Source

Thrown at cli/command/volume/prune.go:89

func runPrune(ctx context.Context, dockerCli command.Cli, options pruneOptions) (spaceReclaimed uint64, output string, _ error) {
	pruneFilters := command.PruneFilters(dockerCli, options.filter.Value())

	warning := unusedVolumesWarning
	if options.all {
		if _, ok := pruneFilters["all"]; ok {
			return 0, "", invalidParamErr{errors.New("conflicting options: cannot specify both --all and --filter all=1")}
		}
		pruneFilters.Add("all", "true")
		warning = allVolumesWarning
	}
	if !options.force {
		r, err := prompt.Confirm(ctx, dockerCli.In(), dockerCli.Out(), warning)
		if err != nil {
			return 0, "", err
		}
		if !r {
			return 0, "", cancelledErr{errors.New("volume prune has been cancelled")}
		}
	}

	res, err := dockerCli.Client().VolumePrune(ctx, client.VolumePruneOptions{
		Filters: pruneFilters,
	})
	if err != nil {
		return 0, "", err
	}

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

View on GitHub (pinned to e9452d6e78)

Solutions

1. Pass -f/--force to skip the confirmation prompt in scripts and CI: `docker volume prune -f`
2. If interactive, answer 'y' at the prompt to proceed
3. Treat this exit as a deliberate cancellation, not a failure, when parsing CLI output

Example fix

# before (hangs or cancels in CI)
docker volume prune
# after
docker volume prune -f

When it happens

Trigger: Running `docker volume prune` (or `docker volume prune --all`) without the -f/--force flag and answering 'n' (or anything non-affirmative) at the 'Are you sure you want to continue? [y/N]' prompt; also triggered if stdin is closed/non-interactive so the prompt defaults to No.

Common situations: Scripts or CI pipelines invoking `docker volume prune` without -f, where there is no TTY and the prompt auto-declines; users pressing Enter at the prompt (default is No); wrappers piping empty stdin into the command.

Related errors

• builder prune has been cancelled
• container prune has been cancelled
• system prune has been cancelled
• conflicting options: cannot specify both --all and --filter
• ERROR: The "until" filter is not supported with "--volumes"

AI-assisted analysis of docker/cli@e9452d6e78 (2026-08-01). Data as JSON: /data/errors/03b57629a0addacc.json. Report an issue: GitHub.