wagoodman/dive · error

cannot determine image provider to fetch from

Error message

cannot determine image provider to fetch from: %w

What it means

Returned by `dive <image>` when dive.GetImageResolver(opts.Analysis.Source) cannot map the configured --source to an image provider. The source selects which engine to fetch the image from; resolution fails for unknown/unsupported source values or when the provider is unusable on the host, before any fetch is attempted.

Solutions

1. Check the wrapped message for the list of valid sources
2. Set --source explicitly to docker or podman as installed on the host
3. Confirm the engine works at all: docker version / podman version
4. Remove or update the source key in your dive config file

Example fix

# before
dive alpine --source containerd   # unsupported

# after
dive alpine --source docker

# pin the source to a locally available engine
command -v docker >/dev/null && SRC=docker || SRC=podman
dive myimage:latest --source "$SRC"

resolver, err := dive.GetImageResolver(opts.Analysis.Source)
if err != nil {
    // unknown/unavailable provider: probe engines and retry with an explicit source
    return fmt.Errorf("cannot determine image provider to fetch from: %w", err)
}

When it happens

Trigger: dive image --source <bad-value>, or a default source that is not available in the current environment; GetImageResolver errors immediately and the fetch never runs.

Common situations: Misspelled --source; assuming dive defaults to podman on a docker-only host (or vice versa); stale config files carrying a source value from an older dive version with a different provider list.

Related errors

• cannot determine image provider for build
• cannot analyze image
• cannot build image
• cannot load image
• could not determine docker host

AI-assisted analysis of wagoodman/dive@d6c691947f (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f478b7340d96ccf7. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at cmd/dive/cli/internal/command/root.go:48

		Use:   "dive [IMAGE]",
		Short: "Docker Image Visualizer & Explorer",
		Long: `This tool provides a way to discover and explore the contents of a docker image. Additionally the tool estimates
the amount of wasted space and identifies the offending files from the image.`,
		Args: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
			if len(args) != 1 {
				return fmt.Errorf("exactly one argument is required")
			}
			opts.Analysis.Image = args[0]
			return nil
		},
		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
			if err := setUI(app, opts.Application); err != nil {
				return fmt.Errorf("failed to set UI: %w", err)
			}

			resolver, err := dive.GetImageResolver(opts.Analysis.Source)
			if err != nil {
				return fmt.Errorf("cannot determine image provider to fetch from: %w", err)
			}

			ctx := cmd.Context()

			img, err := adapter.ImageResolver(resolver).Fetch(ctx, opts.Analysis.Image)
			if err != nil {
				return fmt.Errorf("cannot load image: %w", err)
			}

			return run(ctx, opts.Application, img, resolver)
		},
	}, opts)
}

func setUI(app clio.Application, opts options.Application) error {
	type Stater interface {
		State() *clio.State
	}

View on GitHub (pinned to d6c691947f)