Hint: Connection to Docker failed. Is docker or Docker Desktop running?

[MatthewEvolving]

Thanks in advance. I built the image in docker with the following Dockerfile:

FROM python:3.10
# Set the working directory in the container
WORKDIR /app

# Copy the requirements.txt file and install dependencies
COPY requirements.txt .
RUN pip install -r requirements.txt

# Copy the rest of the application files into the container
COPY . .

# Define environment variable for OpenAI API Key
ENV OPENAI_API_KEY YourOpenAIKeyHere

# Expose port 7860 for Gradio or similar services
EXPOSE 7860

# Start the application
CMD ["python"]

I get the following error on Widows 11 PC, but not Widows 10 PC:

Hint: Connection to Docker failed. Is docker or Docker Desktop running?

Error: Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.10/site-packages/docker/api/client.py", line 207, in __init__
    self._version = self._retrieve_server_version()
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.10/site-packages/docker/api/client.py", line 230, in _retrieve_server_version
    raise DockerException(
docker.errors.DockerException: Error while fetching server API version: ('Connection aborted.', FileNotFoundError(2, 'No such file or directory'))

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.10/site-packages/urllib3/connectionpool.py", line 789, in urlopen
    response = self._make_request(
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.10/site-packages/urllib3/connectionpool.py", line 495, in _make_request
    conn.request(
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.10/site-packages/urllib3/connection.py", line 398, in request
    self.endheaders()
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.10/http/client.py", line 1278, in endheaders
    self._send_output(message_body, encode_chunked=encode_chunked)
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.10/http/client.py", line 1038, in _send_output
    self.send(msg)
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.10/http/client.py", line 976, in send
    self.connect()
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.10/site-packages/docker/transport/unixconn.py", line 26, in connect
    sock.connect(self.unix_socket)
FileNotFoundError: [Errno 2] No such file or directory

During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.10/site-packages/requests/adapters.py", line 667, in send
    resp = conn.urlopen(
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.10/site-packages/urllib3/connectionpool.py", line 843, in urlopen
    retries = retries.increment(
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.10/site-packages/urllib3/util/retry.py", line 474, in increment
    raise reraise(type(error), error, _stacktrace)
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.10/site-packages/urllib3/util/util.py", line 38, in reraise
    raise value.with_traceback(tb)
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.10/site-packages/urllib3/connectionpool.py", line 789, in urlopen
    response = self._make_request(
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.10/site-packages/urllib3/connectionpool.py", line 495, in _make_request
    conn.request(
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.10/site-packages/urllib3/connection.py", line 398, in request
    self.endheaders()
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.10/http/client.py", line 1278, in endheaders
    self._send_output(message_body, encode_chunked=encode_chunked)
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.10/http/client.py", line 1038, in _send_output
    self.send(msg)
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.10/http/client.py", line 976, in send
    self.connect()
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.10/site-packages/docker/transport/unixconn.py", line 26, in connect
    sock.connect(self.unix_socket)
urllib3.exceptions.ProtocolError: ('Connection aborted.', FileNotFoundError(2, 'No such file or directory'))

During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.10/site-packages/docker/api/client.py", line 223, in _retrieve_server_version
    return self.version(api_version=False)["ApiVersion"]
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.10/site-packages/docker/api/daemon.py", line 181, in version
    return self._result(self._get(url), json=True)
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.10/site-packages/docker/utils/decorators.py", line 44, in inner
    return f(self, *args, **kwargs)
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.10/site-packages/docker/api/client.py", line 246, in _get
    return self.get(url, **self._set_request_timeout(kwargs))
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.10/site-packages/requests/sessions.py", line 602, in get
    return self.request("GET", url, **kwargs)
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.10/site-packages/requests/sessions.py", line 589, in request
    resp = self.send(prep, **send_kwargs)
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.10/site-packages/requests/sessions.py", line 703, in send
    r = adapter.send(request, **kwargs)
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.10/site-packages/requests/adapters.py", line 682, in send
    raise ConnectionError(err, request=request)
requests.exceptions.ConnectionError: ('Connection aborted.', FileNotFoundError(2, 'No such file or directory'))

The above exception was the direct cause of the following exception:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/app/python/helpers/docker.py", line 21, in init_docker
    self.client = docker.from_env()
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.10/site-packages/docker/client.py", line 94, in from_env
    return cls(
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.10/site-packages/docker/client.py", line 45, in __init__
    self.api = APIClient(*args, **kwargs)
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.10/site-packages/docker/api/client.py", line 207, in __init__
    self._version = self._retrieve_server_version()
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.10/site-packages/docker/api/client.py", line 230, in _retrieve_server_version
    raise DockerException(
docker.errors.DockerException: Error while fetching server API version: ('Connection aborted.', FileNotFoundError(2, 'No such file or directory'))

During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/app/main.py", line 157, in <module>
    initialize()
  File "/app/main.py", line 69, in initialize
    chat(agent0)
  File "/app/main.py", line 107, in chat
    assistant_response = agent.message_loop(user_input)
  File "/app/agent.py", line 124, in message_loop
    tools_result = self.process_tools(agent_response) # process tools requested in agent message
  File "/app/agent.py", line 250, in process_tools
    response = tool.execute(**tool_args)
  File "/app/python/tools/code_execution_tool.py", line 27, in execute
    self.prepare_state()
  File "/app/python/tools/code_execution_tool.py", line 56, in prepare_state
    docker = DockerContainerManager(name=self.agent.config.code_exec_docker_name, image=self.agent.config.code_exec_docker_image, ports=self.agent.config.code_exec_docker_ports, volumes=self.agent.config.code_exec_docker_volumes)
  File "/app/python/helpers/docker.py", line 15, in __init__
    self.init_docker()
  File "/app/python/helpers/docker.py", line 28, in init_docker
    time.sleep(5) # try again in 5 seconds
KeyboardInterrupt

root@b8203731bd8a:/app#

I've been using Google and ChatGPT to try and solve, but the suggestions have not worked.

Any ideas? Thanks!

[dwidge]

I get this error on win11 when I run it in git bash instead of wsl. I have dockerd running in wsl only. It can't see dockerd from git bash.
The agent needs a docker container as a playground. The controller needs the docker daemon to start containers for agents.
If you want to run the python controller itself in a docker container, the container needs access to dockerd.

User
can i access dockerd from python inside docker container?

ChatGPT
Yes, you can access dockerd (the Docker daemon) from Python inside a Docker container. This is often referred to as "Docker in Docker" (DinD). However, there are different ways to set it up, and there are caveats to consider.

Approaches to Running Docker in Docker
Docker Socket Binding (Most Common Approach):

You mount the Docker socket from the host into the container. This allows the container to use the Docker daemon on the host machine.
This is done by adding -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock to the docker run command when starting the container.
Inside the container, you can use Docker CLI commands or a Docker SDK for Python (like docker-py) to communicate with the Docker daemon.
Example of mounting the socket:

bash
Copy code
docker run -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock -it your-container
Python Example:

python
Copy code
import docker

client = docker.from_env()
containers = client.containers.list()
print(containers)
DinD (Docker Inside Docker Daemon):

This is a more complex approach where a Docker daemon (dockerd) is run inside the container itself. The Docker team provides a special Docker image called docker:dinD designed for this use case.
It works well for CI/CD scenarios or isolated environments where you want a fresh Docker daemon inside the container.
Example of running DinD:

bash
Copy code
docker run --privileged -d docker:dind
The --privileged flag gives the container elevated privileges required to run the Docker daemon.

Caveats
Security Concerns: Mounting the Docker socket from the host gives the container control over the host's Docker daemon, which is a security risk. The container can start/stop/remove any container on the host and potentially access host resources.

DinD Performance: Running a Docker daemon inside a container can be resource-intensive and may introduce complexity, especially when dealing with networking and storage layers.

Use Cases: Socket binding is more common for development purposes, while DinD is used for building Docker images or running isolated Docker environments inside CI pipelines.

Conclusion
Docker in Docker works both with socket binding (simpler and more common) and DinD (more isolated but complex). The best approach depends on your use case.

[MatthewEvolving]

Thank you for the quick reply, I'll work through your advice and post a follow-up. As far as I can tell I am using WSL, but I also remember seeing a setting on Docker for Bash during install, if I remember correctly.

[keithbphillips]

I'm also getting this error on Mac and apple silicon. Docker info works. Docker run hello-works. But getting:

Error: Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/Users/xxxxxx/miniconda3/envs/a0/lib/python3.12/site-packages/docker/api/client.py", line 207, in init
self._version = self._retrieve_server_version()
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
File "/Users/xxxxxxx/miniconda3/envs/a0/lib/python3.12/site-packages/docker/api/client.py", line 230, in _retrieve_server_version
raise DockerException(
docker.errors.DockerException: Error while fetching server API version: ('Connection aborted.', FileNotFoundError(2, 'No such file or directory'))

[afanjul]

me too, using Macbook M1 with Sonoma 14.5. Docker is running, but the agent zero fails with the same line error.

Traceback (most recent call last): File "/opt/miniconda3/envs/a0/lib/python3.12/site-packages/docker/api/client.py", line 207, in __init__ self._version = self._retrieve_server_version() ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ File "/opt/miniconda3/envs/a0/lib/python3.12/site-packages/docker/api/client.py", line 230, in _retrieve_server_version raise DockerException( docker.errors.DockerException: Error while fetching server API version: ('Connection aborted.', FileNotFoundError(2, 'No such file or directory'))

any solution?