Docker "manifest unknown" in CI

By Kaveh Alemi·Latchkey

The registry has the repository but not the specific tag or digest you requested. The image name resolves; the version does not exist (or was deleted).

What this error means

A pull fails with manifest unknown or manifest for <image>:<tag> not found. Other tags of the same image pull fine.

Error response from daemon: manifest for ghcr.io/org/app:v1.2.3 not found: manifest unknown: manifest unknown

Common causes

Tag never published or deleted

The tag was never pushed, was removed, or a typo points at a nonexistent version.

Wrong registry or namespace

The image exists elsewhere; this registry/namespace does not have that tag.

Architecture-specific tag missing

A platform-specific manifest is absent for the requested architecture.

How to fix it

List the tags that exist

1. Query the registry for available tags and pick a real one.

docker buildx imagetools inspect ghcr.io/org/app:latest

Fix the reference

1. Correct the tag/digest and registry host.
2. Ensure the publishing job ran before the consuming job.

How to prevent it

• Reference tags that are guaranteed published (or pin by digest), and order publish-before-consume jobs so the manifest exists. This is deterministic, not transient.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

References

• Docker documentation
• Docker build cache
• GitHub Actions documentation