Docker "OCI runtime create failed" - Diagnose Container Start Failures
OCI runtime create failed is runc’s wrapper around a lower-level container-start failure. As with BuildKit’s "failed to solve", the real cause is in the text after the colon.
What this error means
A docker run or docker compose up fails with OCI runtime create failed: ... : <real reason>. The wrapper is generic; the suffix names the actual problem (missing executable, bad mount, permissions).
docker: Error response from daemon: OCI runtime create failed:
runc create failed: unable to start container process: exec: "node":
executable file not found in $PATH: unknown.Common causes
"executable file not found in $PATH"
The command/entrypoint references a binary that is not installed or not on PATH in the image (e.g. node in a base image that lacks it, or a typo in CMD).
"no such file or directory" on a mount
A bind mount points at a host path that does not exist on the runner, so runc cannot set up the container’s filesystem.
Permission/capability problem
A read-only filesystem, missing capability, or attempting a privileged operation without --privileged can fail container creation.
How to fix it
Read the suffix and fix that specific cause
- For "executable file not found", install the binary or fix the command/PATH.
- For mount "no such file or directory", create or correct the host path (relative bind mounts in CI often point nowhere).
- For permission errors, add the needed capability or adjust the filesystem mode.
Verify the entrypoint exists in the image
Run a shell in the image and check the command resolves.
docker run --rm -it --entrypoint sh myorg/api:1.4.2 -c 'command -v node || echo missing'How to prevent it
- Keep CMD/ENTRYPOINT binaries installed and on PATH in the final image.
- Use absolute, existing host paths for bind mounts in CI.
- Smoke-test images before they reach downstream jobs.