hashicorp/vagrant · error · Vagrant::Errors::CloneMachineNotFound

The clone environment hasn't been created yet. To clone…

Error message

The clone environment hasn't been created yet. To clone from
another Vagrantfile, it must already be created with `vagrant up`.
It doesn't need to be running.

Additionally, the created environment must be started with a provider
matching this provider. For example, if you're using VirtualBox,
the clone environment must also be using VirtualBox.

What it means

With `config.vm.clone` set, Vagrant loads the master environment and asks for its primary machine under the CURRENT project's provider. CloneMachineNotFound fires when that machine has no id — the master environment exists on disk but its VM was never created (no `vagrant up` run there), or it was created under a different provider so no machine exists for this provider.

Solutions

Create the master first: `cd <config.vm.clone path> && vagrant up` (it may be halted afterwards; it just needs to exist).
Ensure provider match: bring the master up with the same provider the clone project uses, e.g. `vagrant up --provider=virtualbox`.
Then re-run `vagrant up` in the cloning project.

Example fix

# before
# clone project: config.vm.clone = "../master"; master never created
vagrant up   # => CloneMachineNotFound

# after
cd ../master && vagrant up --provider=virtualbox && vagrant halt
cd - && vagrant up

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

# Shell: verify the master env is created for this provider before upping the clone
master="$CLONE_PATH"; provider="virtualbox"
idfile=$(find "$master/.vagrant/machines" -maxdepth 3 -name id -path "*/$provider/*" 2>/dev/null | head -n1)
[ -s "$idfile" ] || { echo "master not created for $provider; run: (cd $master && vagrant up --provider=$provider)"; exit 1; }

Prevention

Document/automate the boot order: bring up (create) the master environment before any project that clones it.
Keep the master and clone projects on the same provider; encode the provider explicitly with `vagrant up --provider=...`.
Remember the master only needs to be created, not running — 'halt' after first up is fine.

When it happens

Trigger: `vagrant up` in the cloning project when the master environment's primary machine `.id` is nil: master never booted, master was `vagrant destroy`ed, or master runs VirtualBox while the clone uses another provider (lib/vagrant/action/builtin/prepare_clone.rb:27-30).

Common situations: Forgetting to boot the master first; provider mismatch between the two Vagrantfiles (the error text calls this out); switching providers in the clone project without re-creating the master.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of hashicorp/vagrant@35f3160f4a (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/4c38cfcc378d0901. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at lib/vagrant/action/builtin/prepare_clone.rb:29

          @app = app
          @logger = Log4r::Logger.new("vagrant::action::vm::prepare_clone")
        end

        def call(env)
          # If we aren't cloning, then do nothing
          if !env[:machine].config.vm.clone
            return @app.call(env)
          end

          # We need to get the machine ID from this Vagrant environment
          clone_env = env[:machine].env.environment(
            env[:machine].config.vm.clone)
          raise Errors::CloneNotFound if !clone_env.root_path

          # Get the machine itself
          clone_machine = clone_env.machine(
            clone_env.primary_machine_name, env[:machine].provider_name)
          raise Errors::CloneMachineNotFound if !clone_machine.id

          # Set the ID of the master so we know what to clone from
          env[:clone_id] = clone_machine.id
          env[:clone_machine] = clone_machine

          # Continue
          @app.call(env)
        end
      end
    end
  end
end

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