What causes "daemon %#q (path=%#q) is not available" in lima-vm/lima?

Install socket_vmnet (on macOS: brew install socket_vmnet) and note the binary path

daemon %#q (path=%#q) is not available

Error message

daemon %#q (path=%#q) is not available

What it means

Config.User resolves the OS user that should run a network daemon. First it checks IsDaemonInstalled; if the daemon binary path is not configured/executable, it returns 'daemon %#q (path=%#q) is not available' instead of attempting a lookup. The embedded path in the message shows exactly which configured path failed.

Source

Thrown at pkg/networks/commands.go:84

// Sock returns a socket_vmnet socket.
func (c *Config) Sock(name string) string {
	return filepath.Join(c.Paths.VarRun, fmt.Sprintf("socket_vmnet.%s", name))
}

func (c *Config) PIDFile(name, daemon string) string {
	return filepath.Join(c.Paths.VarRun, fmt.Sprintf("%s_%s.pid", name, daemon))
}

func (c *Config) LogFile(name, daemon, stream string) string {
	networksDir, _ := dirnames.LimaNetworksDir()
	return filepath.Join(networksDir, fmt.Sprintf("%s_%s.%s.log", name, daemon, stream))
}

func (c *Config) User(daemon string) (osutil.User, error) {
	if ok, _ := c.IsDaemonInstalled(daemon); !ok {
		daemonPath, _ := c.DaemonPath(daemon)
		return osutil.User{}, fmt.Errorf("daemon %#q (path=%#q) is not available", daemon, daemonPath)
	}
	//nolint:gocritic // singleCaseSwitch: should rewrite switch statement to if statement
	switch daemon {
	case SocketVMNet:
		return osutil.LookupUser("root")
	}
	return osutil.User{}, fmt.Errorf("daemon %#q not defined", daemon)
}

func (c *Config) MkdirCmd() string {
	return fmt.Sprintf("/bin/mkdir -m 775 -p %s", c.Paths.VarRun)
}

func (c *Config) StartCmd(name, daemon string) string {
	if ok, _ := c.IsDaemonInstalled(daemon); !ok {
		panic(fmt.Errorf("daemon %#q is not available", daemon))
	}
	var cmd string

View on GitHub (pinned to dd909d0973)

Solutions

Install socket_vmnet (on macOS: brew install socket_vmnet) and note the binary path
Set paths.socketVMNet in $LIMA_HOME/_config/networks.yaml to the installed binary path
Re-run `limactl sudoers` setup so the daemon user/permissions are configured

Example fix

// networks.yaml
// before
paths:
  socketVMNet: ""
// after
paths:
  socketVMNet: /opt/homebrew/bin/socket_vmnet

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

installed, err := cfg.IsDaemonInstalled(networks.SocketVMNet)
if err != nil || !installed {
    return fmt.Errorf("install socket_vmnet and set paths.socketVMNet in networks.yaml")
}

Try / catch

u, err := cfg.User(networks.SocketVMNet)
if err != nil {
    // message includes the failing daemon path; surface it to the user
    return err
}

Prevention

Install socket_vmnet before starting instances with port forwarding requiring it
Verify the binary path exists with os.Stat after configuring networks.yaml
Run the documented `limactl sudoers` post-install step on macOS

When it happens

Trigger: startDaemon, stopNetwork, or passwordLessSudo calls User(daemon) while Paths.SocketVMNet is empty in networks.yaml or points to a non-existent binary, so IsDaemonInstalled reports false.

Common situations: socket_vmnet not installed (e.g. `brew install socket_vmnet` skipped on macOS); networks.yaml paths section pointing at a wrong/old binary location; fresh machine without the post-install setup steps run (limactl sudoers).

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of lima-vm/lima@dd909d0973 (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/3870d0922f6bb25f. Report an issue: GitHub.