What causes "Unable to find Dockerfile %s in %s" in quarkusio/quarkus?

Restore the missing Dockerfile into src/main/docker/ from a generated Quarkus project

quarkusio/quarkus · error · IllegalStateException

Unable to find Dockerfile %s in %s

Error message

Unable to find Dockerfile %s in %s

What it means

The default-Dockerfile detection found the docker directory root but the specific expected Dockerfile resource (e.g. Dockerfile.jvm, Dockerfile.legacy-jar, Dockerfile.native) does not exist in it, so detect() throws this IllegalStateException naming the missing file and the absolute root path.

Source

Thrown at extensions/container-image/container-image-docker-common/deployment/src/main/java/io/quarkus/container/image/docker/common/deployment/CommonProcessor.java:397

    }

    protected interface DockerfilePaths {
        Path dockerfilePath();

        Path dockerExecutionPath();
    }

    protected record DockerfileDetectionResult(Path dockerfilePath, Path dockerExecutionPath) implements DockerfilePaths {
        protected static DockerfilePaths detect(String resource, Path outputDirectory) {
            var dockerfileToExecutionRoot = findDockerfileRoot(outputDirectory);
            if (dockerfileToExecutionRoot == null) {
                throw new IllegalStateException(
                        "Unable to find root of Dockerfile files. Consider adding 'src/main/docker/' to your project root.");
            }

            var dockerFilePath = dockerfileToExecutionRoot.getKey().resolve(resource);
            if (!Files.exists(dockerFilePath)) {
                throw new IllegalStateException(
                        "Unable to find Dockerfile %s in %s"
                                .formatted(resource, dockerfileToExecutionRoot.getKey().toAbsolutePath()));
            }

            return new DockerfileDetectionResult(dockerFilePath, dockerfileToExecutionRoot.getValue());
        }

        private static Map.Entry<Path, Path> findDockerfileRoot(Path outputDirectory) {
            var mainSourcesRoot = findMainSourcesRoot(outputDirectory);
            if (mainSourcesRoot == null) {
                return null;
            }

            var dockerfilesRoot = mainSourcesRoot.getKey().resolve(DOCKER_DIRECTORY_NAME);
            if (!dockerfilesRoot.toFile().exists()) {
                return null;
            }

View on GitHub (pinned to e1c734241f)

Solutions

Restore the missing Dockerfile into src/main/docker/ from a generated Quarkus project
Set quarkus.container-image.docker.dockerfile-jvm-path (or -native-path) to point at the Dockerfile you actually have
Match the package type configuration (quarkus.package.jar.type) with the Dockerfiles present
Check the absolute path in the message to confirm which directory and filename are expected

Example fix

# before: only Dockerfile.jvm present, legacy-jar build
./mvnw package -Dquarkus.package.jar.type=legacy-jar -Dquarkus.container-image.build=true
# after
cp Dockerfile.jvm Dockerfile.legacy-jar  # or set quarkus.container-image.docker.dockerfile-jvm-path=Dockerfile.jvm

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

String pkgType = System.getProperty("quarkus.package.jar.type", "fast-jar");
String expected = pkgType.equals("legacy-jar") ? "Dockerfile.legacy-jar"
        : "Dockerfile.jvm";
if (!Files.isRegularFile(Path.of("src/main/docker", expected))) {
    throw new IllegalStateException("Missing " + expected + " in src/main/docker");
}

Type guard

boolean dockerfileExistsFor(String name) {
    return Files.isRegularFile(Path.of("src/main/docker", name));
}

Try / catch

try {
    buildImage();
} catch (IllegalStateException e) {
    if (e.getMessage().startsWith("Unable to find Dockerfile")) {
        // restore file or set quarkus.container-image.docker.dockerfile-jvm-path
    } else throw e;
}

Prevention

Keep all generated Dockerfiles (jvm, legacy-jar, native, native-micro) in src/main/docker
When setting quarkus.package.jar.type=legacy-jar, ensure Dockerfile.legacy-jar exists
Point dockerfile-jvm-path at an existing Dockerfile if you maintain your own
Verify filenames have no stray extensions (.txt) or case mismatches

When it happens

Trigger: src/main/docker/ exists but is missing the Dockerfile matching the package type: Dockerfile.legacy-jar needed when quarkus.package.jar.type=legacy-jar, or Dockerfile.native needed for a native image build, etc.

Common situations: Switching quarkus.package.jar.type to legacy-jar while only Dockerfile.jvm exists; users deleting Dockerfile.native as 'unused'; typos renaming the file (Dockerfile.jvm.txt).

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of quarkusio/quarkus@e1c734241f (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a65a4aa3d5c3dca2. Report an issue: GitHub.