docker/cli · error

volume %s: volume.external.name and volume.name conflict; on

Error message

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

What it means

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

Source

Thrown at cli/compose/loader/loader.go:595

	volumes := make(map[string]types.VolumeConfig)
	if err := Transform(source, &volumes); err != nil {
		return volumes, err
	}

	for name, volume := range volumes {
		if !volume.External.External {
			continue
		}
		switch {
		case volume.Driver != "":
			return nil, externalVolumeError(name, "driver")
		case len(volume.DriverOpts) > 0:
			return nil, externalVolumeError(name, "driver_opts")
		case len(volume.Labels) > 0:
			return nil, externalVolumeError(name, "labels")
		case volume.External.Name != "":
			if volume.Name != "" {
				return nil, fmt.Errorf("volume %s: volume.external.name and volume.name conflict; only use volume.name", name)
			}
			if versions.GreaterThanOrEqualTo(version, "3.4") {
				logrus.Warnf("volume %s: volume.external.name is deprecated in favor of volume.name", name)
			}
			volume.Name = volume.External.Name
			volume.External.Name = ""
		case volume.Name == "":
			volume.Name = name
		}
		volume.Extras = loadExtras(name, source)
		volumes[name] = volume
	}
	return volumes, nil
}

// LoadSecrets produces a SecretConfig map from a compose file Dict
// the source Dict is not validated if directly used. Use Load() to enable validation
func LoadSecrets(source map[string]any, details types.ConfigDetails) (map[string]types.SecretConfig, error) {

View on GitHub (pinned to e9452d6e78)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at cli/compose/loader/loader.go:595 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/ceeb139e9e79af84.json. Report an issue: GitHub.