How to fix failed to resolve with frontend dockerfile.v0: failed to create LLB definition: the --from=xxx argument must point to a valid previous stage in Docker

The most common cause is a typo or case mismatch. Stage names are case-sensitive. Check that the --from value exactly matches the stage name defined with AS.

Incorrect - case mismatch:

FROM node:18 AS Builder
WORKDIR /app
COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm install && npm run build

FROM nginx:alpine
# ERROR: 'builder' doesn't match 'Builder'
COPY --from=builder /app/dist /usr/share/nginx/html

Correct:

FROM node:18 AS builder
WORKDIR /app
COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm install && npm run build

FROM nginx:alpine
COPY --from=builder /app/dist /usr/share/nginx/html

Tip: Use lowercase for all stage names to avoid case-related issues.

In Docker multi-stage builds, you can only reference stages that appear earlier in the Dockerfile. The --from instruction cannot reference stages defined later.

Incorrect - referencing a later stage:

FROM nginx:alpine
# ERROR: 'builder' is not defined yet
COPY --from=builder /app/dist /usr/share/nginx/html

FROM node:18 AS builder
WORKDIR /app
RUN npm run build

Correct - stages in proper order:

FROM node:18 AS builder
WORKDIR /app
COPY . .
RUN npm run build

FROM nginx:alpine
COPY --from=builder /app/dist /usr/share/nginx/html

If you need to reorganize your Dockerfile, ensure all --from references are updated accordingly.

The AS keyword is required to give a stage a name that can be referenced. Without it, you can only reference stages by their numeric index.

Incorrect - missing AS clause:

FROM golang:1.21
WORKDIR /src
COPY . .
RUN go build -o /app

FROM alpine:latest
# ERROR: no stage named 'build' exists
COPY --from=build /app /app

Correct - with AS clause:

FROM golang:1.21 AS build
WORKDIR /src
COPY . .
RUN go build -o /app

FROM alpine:latest
COPY --from=build /app /app

Alternative - using numeric index:

FROM golang:1.21
WORKDIR /src
COPY . .
RUN go build -o /app

FROM alpine:latest
# Using 0 to reference the first stage
COPY --from=0 /app /app

Named stages are preferred as they're more readable and don't break if stages are reordered.

The --from flag can also reference external images. If referencing an external image, verify it exists and the name is correct.

Example referencing external image:

FROM alpine:latest
# Copy nginx config from the official nginx image
COPY --from=nginx:1.25-alpine /etc/nginx/nginx.conf /etc/nginx/nginx.conf

Common issues with external images:
- Image name typo: ngnix instead of nginx
- Missing tag: nginx when you need nginx:alpine
- Private image without authentication
- Image not available for your platform architecture

Verify the image exists:

docker pull nginx:1.25-alpine

If the pull fails, the --from reference will also fail.

If using build arguments in --from, ensure they're properly defined and have values.

Incorrect - ARG not in scope:

ARG BASE_STAGE=builder

FROM node:18 AS builder
RUN npm run build

FROM nginx:alpine
# ERROR: ARG goes out of scope after FROM
COPY --from=${BASE_STAGE} /app/dist /usr/share/nginx/html

Correct - re-declare ARG after FROM:

ARG BASE_STAGE=builder

FROM node:18 AS builder
RUN npm run build

FROM nginx:alpine
ARG BASE_STAGE
COPY --from=${BASE_STAGE} /app/dist /usr/share/nginx/html

Important: ARG values declared before the first FROM are global, but must be re-declared in each stage where they're used (the value is inherited).

Test with explicit value:

docker build --build-arg BASE_STAGE=builder -t myapp .

When using --target to build a specific stage, other stages may not be available.

Example Dockerfile:

FROM node:18 AS deps
RUN npm install

FROM node:18 AS builder
COPY --from=deps /app/node_modules ./node_modules
RUN npm run build

FROM node:18-alpine AS runner
COPY --from=builder /app/dist ./dist

Building only the 'deps' stage:

# This works - deps has no --from references
docker build --target deps -t myapp:deps .

Building 'builder' stage:

# This works - 'deps' stage exists and is built first
docker build --target builder -t myapp:builder .

If you're using --target and getting this error, ensure all stages referenced by your target stage are defined earlier in the Dockerfile.

Enable verbose output to see exactly where the build fails:

docker build --progress=plain -t myapp .

This shows detailed output including:
- Which stage is being processed
- The exact instruction that fails
- The --from value that couldn't be resolved

Example error output:

#8 [stage-1 2/2] COPY --from=bilder /app/dist /usr/share/nginx/html
#8 ERROR: failed to solve: failed to create LLB definition: the --from=bilder argument must point to a valid previous stage

In this example, you can see the typo: "bilder" instead of "builder".

List all stages in Dockerfile:

grep -E "^FROM.*AS" Dockerfile

This helps you see all defined stage names at a glance.