docker/compose · error

--abort-on-container-failure cannot be combined with --abort

Error message

--abort-on-container-failure cannot be combined with --abort-on-container-exit

What it means

Returned by validateFlags for `docker compose up` when both cascade-stop behaviors are enabled. --abort-on-container-exit sets cascadeStop; --abort-on-container-failure sets cascadeFail. Note the implicit link: passing --exit-code-from without --abort-on-container-failure also sets cascadeStop, so combining `--exit-code-from svc --abort-on-container-failure` triggers this error too. The two abort semantics (stop on ANY exit vs. stop only on failure) are mutually exclusive.

Source

Thrown at cmd/compose/up.go:198

		if name == "y" {
			logrus.Warn("--y is deprecated, please use --yes instead")
			name = "yes"
		}
		return pflag.NormalizedName(name)
	})
	return upCmd
}

//nolint:gocyclo
func validateFlags(up *upOptions, create *createOptions) error {
	if up.waitTimeout < 0 {
		return fmt.Errorf("--wait-timeout must be a non-negative integer")
	}
	if up.exitCodeFrom != "" && !up.cascadeFail {
		up.cascadeStop = true
	}
	if up.cascadeStop && up.cascadeFail {
		return fmt.Errorf("--abort-on-container-failure cannot be combined with --abort-on-container-exit")
	}
	if up.wait {
		if up.attachDependencies || up.cascadeStop || len(up.attach) > 0 {
			return fmt.Errorf("--wait cannot be combined with --abort-on-container-exit, --attach or --attach-dependencies")
		}
		up.Detach = true
	}
	if create.Build && create.noBuild {
		return fmt.Errorf("--build and --no-build are incompatible")
	}
	if up.Detach && (up.attachDependencies || up.cascadeStop || up.cascadeFail || len(up.attach) > 0 || up.watch) {
		if up.wait {
			return fmt.Errorf("--wait cannot be combined with --abort-on-container-exit, --abort-on-container-failure, --attach, --attach-dependencies or --watch")
		} else {
			return fmt.Errorf("--detach cannot be combined with --abort-on-container-exit, --abort-on-container-failure, --attach, --attach-dependencies or --watch")
		}
	}
	if create.noInherit && create.noRecreate {

View on GitHub (pinned to ddc4b044b6)

Solutions

1. Keep exactly one abort mode: use `--abort-on-container-failure --exit-code-from web` (recommended for CI, stops only on failure), dropping --abort-on-container-exit.
2. Or keep `--abort-on-container-exit --exit-code-from web` and drop --abort-on-container-failure.
3. Audit wrapper scripts/Makefiles that concatenate COMPOSE_UP_FLAGS from multiple variables.

Example fix

# before
docker compose up --abort-on-container-exit --abort-on-container-failure --exit-code-from web

# after
docker compose up --abort-on-container-failure --exit-code-from web

# allow exactly one abort mode in CI wrappers
ABORT_FLAGS=$(echo "$UP_FLAGS" | grep -o -- '--abort-on-container-[a-z]*' | sort -u)
[ "$(wc -l <<<"$ABORT_FLAGS")" -gt 1 ] && { echo 'conflicting abort flags' >&2; exit 2; }
docker compose up $UP_FLAGS

When it happens

Trigger: `docker compose up --abort-on-container-exit --abort-on-container-failure`; or `docker compose up --exit-code-from web --abort-on-container-failure` (exit-code-from implies cascadeStop when cascadeFail is not already set, then the explicit flag makes both true).

Common situations: CI configs accumulating flags over time until two abort modes coexist; copying flag sets between docs/versions; users assuming --exit-code-from is independent of the abort flags.

Related errors

• --wait-timeout must be a non-negative integer
• --wait cannot be combined with --abort-on-container-exit, --
• --build and --no-build are incompatible
• --wait cannot be combined with --abort-on-container-exit, --
• --detach cannot be combined with --abort-on-container-exit,

AI-assisted analysis of docker/compose@ddc4b044b6 (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/ac2ebb51c0ef8143. Report an issue: GitHub.