How to fix failed to register layer: Error processing tar file in Docker

First, verify you have enough disk space. Docker needs space for both the compressed download and uncompressed layer extraction:

# Check system disk space
df -h

# Check Docker's disk usage
docker system df

If disk space is low, free up space by pruning unused Docker objects:

docker system prune -a

Network issues can cause corrupted downloads. Remove any partial downloads and retry:

# Remove the problematic image if partially downloaded
docker rmi <image_name> 2>/dev/null

# Retry the pull
docker pull <image_name>

If using docker-compose, force a fresh pull:

docker-compose pull --ignore-pull-failures
docker-compose up

If the error occurs during docker build, the build context may contain corrupted or problematic files:

# Reset project directory to clean state
git clean -fdx

# Or manually check for problematic files
ls -la

# Ensure .dockerignore excludes unnecessary files
cat .dockerignore

Large binary files, symbolic links, or files with special characters can cause tar processing errors.

A daemon restart can clear temporary state and resolve transient issues:

Linux:

sudo systemctl restart docker

macOS/Windows (Docker Desktop):
Right-click the Docker icon in the system tray and select "Restart Docker Desktop".

After restarting, retry your operation.

If you're using rootless Docker, the error may be due to insufficient subuid/subgid ranges. Check your configuration:

# View current subuid/subgid allocation
cat /etc/subuid
cat /etc/subgid

You should see your username with a large range (at least 65536 entries). If not, add them:

# Add subuid/subgid ranges for your user
sudo usermod --add-subuids 100000-165535 --add-subgids 100000-165535 $USER

Then restart the rootless Docker daemon:

systemctl --user restart docker

Verify your storage driver and consider switching if issues persist:

# Check current storage driver
docker info | grep "Storage Driver"

If using devicemapper, consider switching to overlay2 (recommended for most systems). Edit /etc/docker/daemon.json:

{
  "storage-driver": "overlay2"
}

Warning: Changing storage drivers will remove all existing images and containers. Back up important data first.

After editing, restart Docker:

sudo systemctl restart docker

If other solutions fail, perform a complete Docker reset:

Linux:

sudo systemctl stop docker
sudo rm -rf /var/lib/docker
sudo systemctl start docker

Docker Desktop:
Go to Settings > Troubleshoot > "Reset to factory defaults"

Warning: This removes ALL Docker data including images, containers, and volumes. Only use as a last resort.