buildkit · Docker
The message
failed to solve: process "/bin/sh -c npm ci" did not complete successfully: exit code: 1
What it means
That RUN line in your Dockerfile exited with a non-zero status. All this line carries is which command failed and with what code; the actual reason is in that command's own output above, which BuildKit tends to fold away once a step finishes. Re-running with docker build --progress=plain prints every step's output in full, and if a cached layer is hiding an older failure, add --no-cache — at the price of rebuilding everything from the first step. exit code: 1 is not a reason, only the fact that the command failed.
The fix
docker build --progress=plain --no-cache .- Printed by
- buildkit
- Docker
- 12
Docker errors only become readable once you place them in a layer — the client failing to reach the daemon, the registry refusing you, a RUN failing during the build, and a container dying the instant it starts are four different problems — and for the build and run layers the line itself is not the reason: the reason is in the output of the command that was running inside, while the cost of each fix differs by layer too.
Reading an error message
- Read from the first line down. The lower you go the more it is about the tool’s internals; the cause is usually at the top.
- If there is a file and a line number, start there — not the top stack frame, but the topmost line that names a file you wrote.
- Search the message verbatim, but strip your own paths and variable names first; those are what stop the search from matching.
- The same condition is worded differently across tool versions. If results look wrong, add the version number to the query.
- Before pasting a fix, check what it throws away. Some of these cannot be undone.
Common questions
Q. What does “failed to solve: process "/bin/sh -c npm ci" did not complete successfully: exit code: 1” mean?
That RUN line in your Dockerfile exited with a non-zero status. All this line carries is which command failed and with what code; the actual reason is in that command's own output above, which BuildKit tends to fold away once a step finishes. Re-running with docker build --progress=plain prints every step's output in full, and if a cached layer is hiding an older failure, add --no-cache — at the price of rebuilding everything from the first step. exit code: 1 is not a reason, only the fact that the command failed.
Q. How do I fix it?
docker build --progress=plain --no-cache . — before running it, check the explanation above for what this command discards.
Q. Which tool prints this?
buildkit. It sits under Docker, and the message runs to 15 words.