netbirdio/netbird · error

failed to connect to daemon error: %v If the daemon is not r

Error message

failed to connect to daemon error: %v
If the daemon is not running please run: 
netbird service install 
netbird service start

What it means

Error "failed to connect to daemon error: %v If the daemon is not running please run: netbird service install netbird service start " thrown in netbirdio/netbird.

Source

Thrown at client/cmd/login.go:105

			}
			return nil
		}

		if err := doDaemonLogin(ctx, cmd, providedSetupKey, activeProf, username.Username, pm); err != nil {
			return fmt.Errorf("daemon login failed: %v", err)
		}

		cmd.Println("Logging successfully")

		return nil
	},
}

func doDaemonLogin(ctx context.Context, cmd *cobra.Command, providedSetupKey string, activeProf *profilemanager.Profile, username string, pm *profilemanager.ProfileManager) error {
	conn, err := DialClientGRPCServer(ctx, daemonAddr)
	if err != nil {
		//nolint
		return fmt.Errorf("failed to connect to daemon error: %v\n"+
			"If the daemon is not running please run: "+
			"\nnetbird service install \nnetbird service start\n", err)
	}
	defer conn.Close()

	client := proto.NewDaemonServiceClient(conn)

	var dnsLabelsReq []string
	if dnsLabelsValidated != nil {
		dnsLabelsReq = dnsLabelsValidated.ToSafeStringList()
	}

	handle := activeProf.ID.String()

	loginRequest := proto.LoginRequest{
		SetupKey:            providedSetupKey,
		ManagementUrl:       managementURL,
		IsUnixDesktopClient: util.HasGraphicalSession(),

View on GitHub (pinned to 93e97f4bf1)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at client/cmd/login.go:105 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of netbirdio/netbird@93e97f4bf1 (2026-08-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/ac133479c3befc3f. Report an issue: GitHub.