OSX boot2docker hangs on "Waiting for VM and Docker daemon to start …"

Question

I've installed boot2docker on OSX 10.8.5 and it seems that the installation went fine, but when I try to launch boot2docker I get the following, which hangs indefinitely:

$ /usr/local/bin/boot2docker up 
Waiting for VM and Docker daemon to start...
..........................................................................oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

What steps should I take to debug this? I haven't been able to find any information on this particular issue.

$ boot2docker version
Boot2Docker-cli version: v1.4.1
Git commit: 43241cb

$ docker version
Client version: 1.4.1
Client API version: 1.16
Go version (client): go1.3.3
Git commit (client): 5bc2ff8
OS/Arch (client): darwin/amd64

$ boot2docker -v up
Boot2Docker-cli version: v1.4.1
Git commit: 43241cb
2014/12/23 00:19:25 executing: VBoxManage showvminfo boot2docker-vm --machinereadable
2014/12/23 00:19:25 executing: VBoxManage showvminfo boot2docker-vm --machinereadable
2014/12/23 00:19:25 executing: VBoxManage showvminfo boot2docker-vm --machinereadable
Waiting for VM and Docker daemon to start...
.Connecting to tcp://localhost:2022 (attempt #0).Connecting to tcp://localhost:2022 (attempt #0).Connecting to tcp://localhost:2022 (attempt #0).Connecting to tcp://localhost:2022 (attempt #0).Connecting to tcp://localhost:2022 (attempt #0).^C

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In my ~/.bash_profile file:

export DOCKER_HOST=tcp://192.168.59.103:2376
export DOCKER_CERT_PATH=/Users/Me/.boot2docker/certs/boot2docker-vm
export DOCKER_TLS_VERIFY=1

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When I open VirtualBox, this what I see:

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I've tried powering off and removing the boot2docker-vm using the Virtual Box GUI, and I get the following when I run boot2docker again:

$ /usr/local/bin/boot2docker init 
error in run: Failed to initialize machine "boot2docker-vm": exit status 2

And then:

$ /usr/local/bin/boot2docker up 
Waiting for VM and Docker daemon to start...
...............................................................…..

Which hangs endlessly.

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Additionally

$ docker ps
FATA[0000] Couldn't read ca cert /Users/Me/.boot2docker/certs/boot2docker-vm/ca.pem: open /Users/Me/.boot2docker/certs/boot2docker-vm/ca.pem: no such file or directory

And:

$ sudo docker ps
FATA[0000] Get http:///var/run/docker.sock/v1.16/containers/json: dial unix /var/run/docker.sock: no such file or directory. Are you trying to connect to a TLS-enabled daemon without TLS?

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Following Sven's advice below deleted the boot2docker-vm again and run init in verbose mode:

    $ boot2docker -v init
Boot2Docker-cli version: v1.4.1
Git commit: 43241cb
2014/12/23 01:53:02 executing: VBoxManage showvminfo boot2docker-vm --machinereadable
2014/12/23 01:53:02 executing: VBoxManage showvminfo boot2docker-vm --machinereadable
2014/12/23 01:53:03 executing: VBoxManage list vms
2014/12/23 01:53:03 executing: VBoxManage createvm --name boot2docker-vm --register
Virtual machine 'boot2docker-vm' is created and registered.
UUID: eca00a0a-6d68-45f3-acd1-ccc4dd1bcec9
Settings file: '/Users/Me/VirtualBox VMs/boot2docker-vm/boot2docker-vm.vbox'
2014/12/23 01:53:03 executing: VBoxManage showvminfo boot2docker-vm --machinereadable
2014/12/23 01:53:03 executing: VBoxManage setextradata boot2docker-vm VBoxInternal/CPUM/EnableHVP 1
2014/12/23 01:53:03 executing: VBoxManage modifyvm boot2docker-vm --firmware bios --bioslogofadein off --bioslogofadeout off --bioslogodisplaytime 0 --biosbootmenu disabled --natdnshostresolver1 off --natdnsproxy1 off --ostype Linux26_64 --cpus 8 --memory 2048 --vram 8 --acpi on --ioapic on --rtcuseutc on --cpuhotplug off --pae on --longmode on --synthcpu off --hpet on --hwvirtex on --triplefaultreset off --nestedpaging on --largepages on --vtxvpid on --vtxux off --accelerate3d off --uart1 0x3F8 4 --uartmode1 server /Users/AJB/.boot2docker/boot2docker-vm.sock --boot1 dvd
2014/12/23 01:53:03 executing: VBoxManage showvminfo boot2docker-vm --machinereadable
2014/12/23 01:53:03 executing: VBoxManage modifyvm boot2docker-vm --nic1 nat --nictype1 virtio --cableconnected1 on
2014/12/23 01:53:03 executing: VBoxManage controlvm boot2docker-vm natpf1 ssh,tcp,127.0.0.1,2022,,22
2014/12/23 01:53:03 executing: VBoxManage list hostonlyifs
2014/12/23 01:53:03 executing: VBoxManage list dhcpservers
2014/12/23 01:53:03 executing: VBoxManage hostonlyif create
0%...10%...20%...30%...40%...50%...60%...70%...80%...90%...100%
2014/12/23 01:53:03 executing: VBoxManage hostonlyif ipconfig dyld: DYLD_ environment variables being ignored because main executable (/Applications/VirtualBox.app/Contents/MacOS/VBoxNetAdp --ip 192.168.59.3 --netmask 255.255.255.0
VBoxManage: error: The host network interface with the given name could not be found
VBoxManage: error: Details: code NS_ERROR_INVALID_ARG (0x80070057), component Host, interface IHost, callee nsISupports
VBoxManage: error: Context: "FindHostNetworkInterfaceByName(name.raw(), hif.asOutParam())" at line 218 of file VBoxManageHostonly.cpp
VBoxManage: error: Could not find interface 'dyld: DYLD_ environment variables being ignored because main executable (/Applications/VirtualBox.app/Contents/MacOS/VBoxNetAdp'
error in run: Failed to initialize machine "boot2docker-vm": exit status 2

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Thanks in advance for any help.

Answer 1

I run into same problem on OSX Yosemite and have to do the following:

1) clean stuff with docker

• boot2docker delete - Warning: this deletes all your docker images.
• In Virtualbox, go to VirtualBox (menu) => Preferences => Network => Host Only Networks
  • Delete the host only networks, then I re-added them
• boot2docker init
• boot2docker up

2) very important, and you probabbly are missing it dealing with environmental variables, as they say:

To connect the Docker client to the Docker daemon, please set:
    export DOCKER_HOST=tcp://192.168.59.103:2376
    export DOCKER_CERT_PATH=/Users/andi/.boot2docker/certs/boot2docker-vm
    export DOCKER_TLS_VERIFY=1

For you the second export command will differ by user name - not andi, but something else. Just copy paste, and hit enter to apply this env variable, and then run e.g docker ps to check either thinks are working properly.

Answer 2

Upgrading Virtual Box is the key but I did this before the upgrade to 4.3.26:

• Remove all from Virtual Box -> Preferences -> Network -> Host-only Networks
• Remove existing boot2docker-vm in Virtual Box
• Install the new version of Virtual Box
• Run boot2docker application

Answer 3

For what it is worth, I tried all the solutions in this question and in this related question and none resolved my issue until I uninstalled and re-installed VirtualBox. This process upgraded the VirtualBox from version 4.2.16 to 4.3.22 (my previous one had been lying unused on the system for a few months).

Then boot2docker and docker worked without any other adjustments.