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

You requested to remove the box '%{name}' version '%{version

Error message

You requested to remove the box '%{name}' version '%{version}'. This
box has multiple providers. You must explicitly select a single provider to
remove with `--provider` or specify the `--all-providers` flag to remove
all providers.

Available providers: %{providers}

What it means

Errors::BoxRemoveMultiProvider is raised when, after version filtering, the target version of the box exists under multiple providers, no --provider was given, and --all-providers was not requested. Vagrant will not guess which provider's files to delete.

Source

Thrown at lib/vagrant/action/builtin/box_remove.rb:68

              if !box_info.keys.include?(box_version)
                raise Errors::BoxRemoveVersionNotFound,
                  name: box_name,
                  version: box_version,
                  versions: box_info.keys.sort.map { |k| " * #{k}" }.join("\n")
              else
                box_info.delete_if { |k, _| k != box_version }
              end
            end

            # Only a single version remains
            box_version = box_info.keys.first

            # Further filtering only matters if not removing all providers
            if !box_remove_all_providers
              # If no provider was given, check if there are more
              # than a single provider for the version
              if !box_provider && box_info.values.first.size > 1
                raise Errors::BoxRemoveMultiProvider,
                  name: box_name,
                  version: box_version,
                  providers: box_info.values.first.keys.map(&:to_s).sort.join(", ")
              end

              # If a provider was given, check the version has it
              if box_provider
                if !box_info.values.first.key?(box_provider)
                  raise Errors::BoxRemoveProviderNotFound,
                    name: box_name,
                    version: box_version,
                    provider: box_provider.to_s,
                    providers: box_info.values.first.keys.map(&:to_s).sort.join(", ")
                else
                  box_info.values.first.delete_if { |k, _| k.to_s != box_provider.to_s }
                end
              end

View on GitHub (pinned to 35f3160f4a)

Solutions

Choose a provider from the error's list: vagrant box remove NAME --provider PROVIDER [--box-version V].
Remove every provider for the version: vagrant box remove NAME --all-providers.
Use 'vagrant box list' to see provider columns before scripting removal.

Example fix

# before
vagrant box remove ubuntu/jammy64 --box-version 202303.0.0   # has virtualbox + vmware

# after (one provider)
vagrant box remove ubuntu/jammy64 --box-version 202303.0.0 --provider virtualbox

# after (all providers)
vagrant box remove ubuntu/jammy64 --box-version 202303.0.0 --all-providers

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

providers = env.box_collection.all
  .select { |n, v, *, | n == box_name && v == box_version }
  .map { |*, p, | p }.uniq
if providers.size > 1
  remove(box_name, box_version: box_version, provider: providers.first)
end

Type guard

def single_provider_version?(collection, name, version)
  collection.all
    .select { |n, v, *, | n == name && v == version }
    .map { |*, p, | p }.uniq.size == 1
end

Try / catch

begin
  env.cli("box", "remove", name, "--box-version", ver)
rescue Vagrant::Errors::BoxRemoveMultiProvider => e
  # e.extra_data[:providers] lists the choices, comma-separated
  env.cli("box", "remove", name, "--box-version", ver, "--provider", e.extra_data[:providers].split(", ").first)
end

Prevention

Include --provider in scripted removals whenever a box may exist under multiple hypervisors.
Review 'vagrant box list' provider columns before writing cleanup automation.

When it happens

Trigger: box_remove_all_providers is falsy, box_provider is nil, and box_info.values.first.size > 1 (more than one provider key for the remaining single version); the raise carries name, version, and the sorted provider names joined with ', '.

Common situations: A box added for both virtualbox and vmware_workstation on one machine; switching hypervisors left dual entries; cleanup scripts assuming a single provider per box.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of hashicorp/vagrant@35f3160f4a (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d3eef75326f1648d. Report an issue: GitHub.