How to fix Error response from daemon: failed to start containerd in Docker

What this error means

When Docker reports "Error response from daemon: failed to start containerd", it means the Docker daemon (dockerd) was unable to initialize containerd, which is the core container runtime that Docker depends on to manage container lifecycles. Containerd is a critical component that handles: - Container image management (pull, push, storage) - Container execution via runc - Container lifecycle management (create, start, stop, delete) - Networking namespace setup - Storage drivers and snapshots The Docker daemon acts as a higher-level orchestrator that communicates with containerd over a Unix socket (typically `/run/containerd/containerd.sock`). When containerd fails to start or becomes unresponsive, Docker cannot perform any container operations. This error often appears in several scenarios: - After a system reboot where containerd didn't start cleanly - When upgrading Docker or containerd packages - After an unexpected system crash or power loss - When VPN software interferes with networking - Due to library version mismatches (especially on rolling-release distros like Arch Linux)

Typical symptoms

• Docker commands fail with 'Error response from daemon: failed to start containerd'
• 'docker ps' or 'docker run' commands hang indefinitely or timeout
• 'systemctl status containerd' shows failed or inactive status
• Docker service fails to start after system reboot
• 'failed to start containerd: timeout waiting for containerd to start' appears in logs
• Docker daemon logs show 'failed to dial' or 'context deadline exceeded' errors
• 'Cannot connect to the Docker daemon' after recent Docker or system update
• Docker Desktop (on Windows/Mac) fails to start with containerd errors

Common causes

1. Stale containerd.pid or docker.pid files pointing to non-existent processes
2. Containerd process hung or taking too long to initialize
3. Containerd binary not found in PATH (especially with sudo)
4. Library version mismatch (GLIBC_2.34 not found on Arch Linux)
5. Corrupted containerd state directory (/var/lib/containerd)
6. VPN software interfering with containerd networking
7. Invalid or malformed daemon.json configuration
8. Missing iptables package on RHEL/CentOS 8+
9. Kernel version too old (requires 3.10+)
10. Insufficient disk space for containerd operations

How to fix "Error response from daemon: failed to start containerd"

sudo systemctl status containerd

sudo journalctl -xeu containerd

sudo containerd

sudo journalctl -xeu docker.service

sudo systemctl stop docker
sudo systemctl stop containerd

sudo rm -f /var/run/docker.pid
sudo rm -f /var/run/docker/containerd/containerd.pid
sudo rm -f /run/containerd/containerd.pid

sudo rm -f /var/run/docker/containerd/containerd.sock

sudo systemctl start containerd
sudo systemctl start docker

sudo systemctl status containerd
sudo systemctl status docker
docker info

# Find containerd processes
ps aux | grep containerd

# Kill all containerd processes
sudo pkill -9 containerd

# Also kill containerd-shim processes
sudo pkill -9 containerd-shim

# Remove PID files
sudo rm -f /var/run/docker/containerd/containerd.pid
sudo rm -f /run/containerd/containerd.pid

# Restart services
sudo systemctl start containerd
sleep 5  # Give containerd time to initialize
sudo systemctl start docker

which containerd
sudo find / -name "containerd" -type f 2>/dev/null

# Example: if containerd is at /usr/local/bin/containerd
sudo ln -s /usr/local/bin/containerd /usr/bin/containerd

sudo visudo

Defaults    secure_path="/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin"

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install --reinstall containerd.io

# RHEL/CentOS
sudo yum reinstall containerd.io

# Arch Linux
sudo pacman -Syu glibc lib32-glibc

# Alternatively, reinstall containerd
sudo pacman -S containerd

sudo pacman -Syu

# Remove and reinstall Docker
sudo pacman -Rns docker
sudo pacman -S docker

# Start services
sudo systemctl start containerd
sudo systemctl start docker

# Disconnect your VPN (method varies)
# Then restart Docker
sudo systemctl restart containerd
sudo systemctl restart docker

{
  "default-address-pools": [
    {"base": "192.168.0.0/16", "size": 24}
  ],
  "bip": "192.168.1.1/24"
}

sudo systemctl restart docker

sudo systemctl stop docker
sudo systemctl stop containerd

sudo rm -rf /var/lib/containerd

# This removes all images, containers, volumes
sudo rm -rf /var/lib/docker

sudo systemctl start containerd
sudo systemctl start docker

docker info
docker run hello-world

# Stop services
sudo systemctl stop docker
sudo systemctl stop containerd

# Purge packages
sudo apt-get purge -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

# Remove data directories
sudo rm -rf /var/lib/docker
sudo rm -rf /var/lib/containerd
sudo rm -rf /etc/docker

# Clean up
sudo apt-get autoremove -y

# Reinstall
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

# Start and verify
sudo systemctl start docker
docker run hello-world

sudo systemctl stop docker
sudo systemctl stop containerd

sudo yum remove -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io

sudo rm -rf /var/lib/docker
sudo rm -rf /var/lib/containerd

sudo yum install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io

sudo systemctl start docker
docker run hello-world

df -h
df -h /var/lib/containerd
df -h /var/lib/docker

# Clear systemd logs
sudo journalctl --vacuum-time=7d

# Clear apt cache (Debian/Ubuntu)
sudo apt clean

# Clear yum cache (RHEL/CentOS)
sudo yum clean all

# After Docker starts, prune unused data
docker system prune -af --volumes

free -h

apt-cache madison docker-ce
apt-cache madison containerd.io

# Example: install Docker 24.0.7 and containerd 1.6.24
sudo apt-get install -y docker-ce=5:24.0.7-1~ubuntu.22.04~jammy containerd.io=1.6.24-1

sudo apt-mark hold docker-ce containerd.io

# List versions
yum list docker-ce --showduplicates

# Install specific version
sudo yum downgrade docker-ce-24.0.7 containerd.io-1.6.24

sudo apt-mark unhold docker-ce containerd.io
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

Advanced notes

docker CLI --> dockerd --> containerd --> runc --> container

sudo containerd config default | sudo tee /etc/containerd/config.toml
sudo systemctl restart containerd

{
  "containerd": "/run/containerd/containerd.sock",
  "containerd-namespace": "moby"
}

sudo containerd --log-level debug

sudo systemctl start docker

systemctl --user status containerd
journalctl --user -xeu containerd

systemctl --user start containerd
systemctl --user start docker

# kubelet configuration
containerRuntimeEndpoint: unix:///run/containerd/containerd.sock

sudo strace -f -o /tmp/containerd-trace.log containerd
# In another terminal
sudo systemctl start docker

grep -i "error\|fail\|ENOENT\|EACCES" /tmp/containerd-trace.log

Frequently asked questions

What does "Error response from daemon: failed to start containerd" mean?

When Docker reports "Error response from daemon: failed to start containerd", it means the Docker daemon (dockerd) was unable to initialize containerd, which is the core container runtime that Docker depends on to manage container lifecycles. sock). When containerd fails to start or becomes unresponsive, Docker cannot perform any container operations.

How do I fix "Error response from daemon: failed to start containerd"?

This error occurs when the Docker daemon cannot start or communicate with containerd, the underlying container runtime. Common causes include stale PID files, timeout issues during startup, missing containerd binary, or corrupted state files. Resolution typically involves removing stale files and restarting services.

What causes "Error response from daemon: failed to start containerd"?

Stale containerd.pid or docker.pid files pointing to non-existent processes Containerd process hung or taking too long to initialize Containerd binary not found in PATH (especially with sudo)

Is the "Error response from daemon: failed to start containerd" error serious?

Yes. This is a high-severity error that usually blocks work until it is fixed, but the steps above resolve it.

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Official resources & further reading

• 📚Docker Official Documentation
• 📖
  Troubleshooting the Docker daemon - Docker Docs(Official Docs)
• 📖
  dockerd CLI reference - Docker Docs(Official Docs)
• 📖
  containerd image store - Docker Docs(Official Docs)
• 📖
  Post-installation steps for Linux - Docker Docs(Official Docs)
• 💬
  Docker fails with 'failed to start containerd: timeout waiting for containerd to start' - Stack Overflow(Stack Overflow)
• 💬
  Docker service won't start after power cycle - Failed to start containerd - Stack Overflow(Stack Overflow)
• 💬
  dockerd not restarting at reboot with 'failed to start containerd' - Stack Overflow(Stack Overflow)
• 💬
  Cannot start docker daemon, failed to connect to containerd - Stack Overflow(Stack Overflow)
• 🐙
  failed to start containerd: timeout waiting for containerd to start - GitHub Issue #250(GitHub)
• 🐙
  Failed to start containerd: timeout waiting for containerd to start - GitHub Issue #168(GitHub)
• 🐙
  Failed to start containerd: executable file not found in $PATH - GitHub Issue #705(GitHub)
• 🐙
  Failed to connect to containerd: context deadline exceeded - GitHub Issue #517(GitHub)
• 🔗
  100 Common Docker Errors & Solutions - Dev.to