How to fix Service 'myservice' failed to build in Docker

DockerINTERMEDIATEMEDIUM

This error occurs when Docker Compose fails to build an image for one of your services. The root cause is typically a Dockerfile issue, missing build context files, incorrect paths in docker-compose.yml, or system resource constraints like insufficient memory or disk space.

What this error means

When you execute `docker-compose build` or `docker-compose up --build`, Docker Compose reads your `docker-compose.yml` configuration and attempts to build Docker images for any services that specify a `build:` section. The "Service failed to build" error is a high-level message indicating that the underlying Docker build process encountered a failure. The specific error details appear in the output above this message. Docker Compose wraps the actual build error with this generic service failure notification. To diagnose the issue, you need to examine the complete build output, not just the final error line. Common underlying causes include: - **Dockerfile syntax errors**: Invalid instructions, typos, or malformed commands in your Dockerfile - **Missing files**: COPY or ADD instructions referencing files that don't exist in the build context - **Incorrect build context**: The `context:` path in docker-compose.yml points to the wrong directory - **Resource exhaustion**: Docker running out of memory or disk space during the build - **Network failures**: Package managers unable to download dependencies

How to fix "Service 'myservice' failed to build"

1Examine the complete error output above the failure message

The "Service failed to build" message is a wrapper - the actual error appears earlier in the output. Scroll up in your terminal to find the specific failure. Look for patterns like:

bash

Step 4/12 : COPY requirements.txt .
COPY failed: file not found in build context or excluded by .dockerignore

bash

E: Package 'some-package' has no installation candidate
The command '/bin/sh -c apt-get install -y some-package' returned a non-zero code: 100

The step number and specific error message tell you exactly where and why the build failed.

2Validate your Dockerfile syntax

Common Dockerfile syntax issues that cause build failures:

dockerfile

# WRONG - Missing newline between instructions
RUN apt-get update RUN apt-get install -y curl

# CORRECT - Each instruction on its own line
RUN apt-get update
RUN apt-get install -y curl

# WRONG - Backslash followed by content instead of newline
RUN apt-get install -y \ curl git vim

# CORRECT - Backslash at end of line for continuation
RUN apt-get install -y \
    curl \
    git \
    vim

Use a Dockerfile linter to catch issues:

bash

# Install hadolint
docker run --rm -i hadolint/hadolint < Dockerfile

3Verify the build context and file paths

In docker-compose.yml, the build context determines what files are available during the build:

yaml

services:
  myservice:
    build:
      context: ./backend    # This is the build context
      dockerfile: Dockerfile

All paths in COPY/ADD commands are relative to this context. If your Dockerfile has:

dockerfile

COPY package.json ./

Then ./backend/package.json must exist. Verify the file is present:

bash

# Check the build context directory
ls -la ./backend/

# Verify specific files exist
test -f ./backend/package.json && echo "Found" || echo "Missing"

4Review .dockerignore for accidentally excluded files

A .dockerignore file can exclude files your build needs. Check if one exists and what it excludes:

bash

cat .dockerignore

Problematic patterns that might exclude needed files:

bash

# Excludes all dotfiles including .env templates
.*

# Might exclude important config
*.json
*.yml

# Too broad - excludes everything except what's explicitly included
*
!src/

Temporarily rename the file to test if it's causing the issue:

bash

mv .dockerignore .dockerignore.bak
docker-compose build myservice

5Check Docker resource allocation

Build failures with exit code 137 or OOM messages indicate memory issues.

Docker Desktop (Windows/macOS):
1. Open Docker Desktop
2. Click Settings (gear icon)
3. Go to Resources > Advanced
4. Set Memory to at least 4GB (8GB recommended for larger builds)
5. Click "Apply & Restart"

Linux with systemd:

bash

# Check current memory limits
docker info | grep -i memory

# Monitor memory during build
docker stats --no-stream

# Check system memory
free -h

If system memory is low, close other applications before building.

6Clear Docker cache and free disk space

Disk space issues can cause cryptic build failures. Clean up Docker resources:

bash

# Show Docker disk usage
docker system df

# Remove all unused data (containers, networks, images, build cache)
docker system prune -a

# Remove only build cache
docker builder prune

# Check available disk space
df -h

Then retry the build without using cached layers:

bash

docker-compose build --no-cache myservice

7Build the image directly with Docker for better error messages

Building directly with the docker build command often provides clearer error output:

bash

# Navigate to the build context directory
cd ./backend

# Build with detailed output
docker build -t myservice-test . --progress=plain

# Even more verbose with build arguments
docker build -t myservice-test . --progress=plain --no-cache 2>&1 | tee build.log

This bypasses docker-compose and lets you see exactly where the build fails.

8Verify base image availability

Ensure the base image in your FROM instruction is accessible:

bash

# Try pulling the base image directly
docker pull node:18-alpine

# If using a private registry, ensure you're logged in
docker login your-registry.com

If the image doesn't exist, you'll see errors like:

bash

manifest for node:18-alpine-nonexistent not found

Update your Dockerfile to use a valid image tag.

How to fix Service 'myservice' failed to build in Docker

What this error means

Typical symptoms

Common causes

How to fix "Service 'myservice' failed to build"

Advanced notes

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