lima-vm/lima · error

%s daemon for %#q network failed to start after %d attempts:

Error message

%s daemon for %#q network failed to start after %d attempts: %w%s

What it means

The network daemon exited before writing its PID file on every one of the 5 retry attempts (with 1s/2s/4s/8s backoff). This retry loop exists specifically for the transient macOS VMNET_FAILURE XPC race with com.apple.NetworkSharing at boot; exhausting all attempts means the daemon is deterministically failing. The daemon's stderr (or log path) is appended to explain why it exits.

Source

Thrown at pkg/networks/reconcile/reconcile.go:318

			return err // infrastructure failure (sudo/exec) — not transient
		}
		err = waitForDaemon(ctx, cmd, pidFile, startTimeout)
		if err == nil {
			return nil
		}
		// Only an early exit (the transient XPC race) is retried; everything else
		// is surfaced immediately.
		if _, ok := errors.AsType[*daemonExitedError](err); !ok {
			// A stuck (still-running) daemon gets its stderr appended; PID-read and
			// context errors propagate as-is.
			if _, ok := errors.AsType[*daemonStuckError](err); ok {
				return fmt.Errorf("%s daemon for %#q network %w%s", daemon, name, err, stderrHint(stderrLog))
			}
			return err
		}
		lastErr = err // process exited early — retry
	}
	return fmt.Errorf("%s daemon for %#q network failed to start after %d attempts: %w%s",
		daemon, name, maxAttempts, lastErr, stderrHint(stderrLog))
}

// waitForDaemon waits until the daemon writes its PID file (success), exits without
// one (returns *daemonExitedError so the caller can retry), or stays alive past
// timeout without a PID file (returns *daemonStuckError). A stuck or cancelled
// process is killed and reaped.
func waitForDaemon(ctx context.Context, cmd *exec.Cmd, pidFile string, timeout time.Duration) error {
	waitCh := make(chan error, 1)
	go func() { waitCh <- cmd.Wait() }()

	timer := time.NewTimer(timeout)
	defer timer.Stop()
	ticker := time.NewTicker(500 * time.Millisecond)
	defer ticker.Stop()

	for {
		ready, err := pidFileWritten(pidFile)

View on GitHub (pinned to dd909d0973)

Solutions

1. Inspect the daemon stderr in the message (or the log file under ~/.lima/networks) for the concrete exit reason
2. Verify socket_vmnet is installed and current: brew install/reinstall socket_vmnet
3. Check networks.yaml: socketVMNet path and the network switch device must exist on this host
4. Reboot the Mac so com.apple.NetworkSharing is fully initialized, then retry
5. Regenerate the sudoers file if socket_vmnet was upgraded: limactl sudoers | sudo tee /etc/sudoers.d/lima

Example fix

// before
limactl start  # fails after 5 attempts: socket_vmnet VMNET_FAILURE
// after
brew reinstall socket_vmnet
limactl sudoers | sudo tee /etc/sudoers.d/lima
limactl start

if _, err := os.Stat(socketVMNetPath); err != nil {
    return fmt.Errorf("socket_vmnet not installed at %s: %w", socketVMNetPath, err)
}
if err := exec.Command(socketVMNetPath, "--version").Run(); err != nil {
    return fmt.Errorf("socket_vmnet binary broken: %w", err)
}

func isDaemonExitedError(err error) bool {
    var e *daemonExitedError
    return errors.As(err, &e)
}

if err := startNetwork(); err != nil {
    if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "failed to start after") {
        // deterministic daemon failure: check stderr hint, reinstall socket_vmnet
    }
    return err
}

When it happens

Trigger: startDaemonWithRetry observes *daemonExitedError five consecutive times — the daemon binary starts and exits each time before creating its PID file, e.g. socket_vmnet crashing on VMNET_FAILURE, bad arguments, missing network device, or a genuinely broken install.

Common situations: macOS right after boot when the race is not transient (broken socket_vmnet), socket_vmnet version mismatch with the generated sudoers config, the configured switch device (e.g. bridge100) not existing, or the daemon lacking permission to open the VMNET interface.

Related errors

• %s daemon for %#q network %w%s
• socket_vmnet is not installed
• failed to build network arguments: %w
• invalid network spec %+v
• no socket_vmnet networks defined

AI-assisted analysis of lima-vm/lima@dd909d0973 (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c61218cc072b1abe. Report an issue: GitHub.