[Bug]: MalformedChunkCodingException since Update to 1.21.4/2.0.3

[nils-christian]

Module

Core

Testcontainers version

1.21.4, 2.0.3

Using the latest Testcontainers version?

Yes

Host OS

Windows

Host Arch

X64

Docker version

Client:                                                                      
 Version:           29.0.2-rd                                                
 API version:       1.51 (downgraded from 1.52)                              
 Go version:        go1.25.4                                                 
 Git commit:        5a2d7eb                                                  
 Built:             Tue Nov 18 23:34:16 2025                                 
 OS/Arch:           windows/amd64                                            
 Context:           default                                                  
                                                                             
Server:                                                                      
 Engine:                                                                     
  Version:          28.3.3                                                   
  API version:      1.51 (minimum version 1.24)                              
  Go version:       go1.24.8                                                 
  Git commit:       bea959c7b793b32a893820b97c4eadc7c87fabb0                 
  Built:            Sun Oct 12 08:01:14 2025                                 
  OS/Arch:          linux/amd64                                              
  Experimental:     false                                                    
 containerd:                                                                 
  Version:          v2.1.5                                                   
  GitCommit:        fcd43222d6b07379a4be9786bda52438f0dd16a1                 
 runc:                                                                       
  Version:          1.3.3                                                    
  GitCommit:        d842d7719497cc3b774fd71620278ac9e17710e0                 
 docker-init:                                                                
  Version:          0.19.0                                                   
  GitCommit:

What happened?

Hi,

I described the problem in a comment in #11254 but given the nature of it, I think it warrants its own issue ticket.

Since updating to Testcontainers 1.21.4/2.0.3 we are occasionally encountering an exception:

NpipeSocketClientProviderStrategy: failed with exception RuntimeException (com.github.dockerjava.zerodep.shaded.org.apache.hc.core5.http.MalformedChunkCodingException: Bad chunk header: ). Root cause MalformedChunkCodingException (Bad chunk header: )

I can reproduce it with something simple as the following code. For some reason it becomes more probable when running in debug mode.

try ( final PostgreSQLContainer<?> container = new PostgreSQLContainer<>( "postgres:14" ) ) {
  container.start( );
}

I use a custom policy to make sure that the image is always pulled.

public final class PullAlwaysPolicy implements ImagePullPolicy {

	@Override
	public boolean shouldPull( final DockerImageName imageName ) {
		return true;
	}

} 

Thank you and best regards

Nils

Relevant log output

Feb. 02, 2026 10:17:54 AM org.testcontainers.images.PullPolicy defaultPolicy
INFORMATION: Found configured Image Pull Policy: class com.example.demo.PullAlwaysPolicy
Feb. 02, 2026 10:17:54 AM org.testcontainers.images.PullPolicy defaultPolicy
INFORMATION: Image pull policy will be performed by: com.example.demo.PullAlwaysPolicy@5d76b067
Feb. 02, 2026 10:17:54 AM org.testcontainers.utility.ImageNameSubstitutor instance
INFORMATION: Image name substitution will be performed by: DefaultImageNameSubstitutor (composite of 'ConfigurationFileImageNameSubstitutor' and 'PrefixingImageNameSubstitutor')
Feb. 02, 2026 10:17:54 AM org.testcontainers.DockerClientFactory getOrInitializeStrategy
INFORMATION: Testcontainers version: 2.0.3
Feb. 02, 2026 10:17:54 AM org.testcontainers.dockerclient.DockerClientProviderStrategy lambda$loadConfiguredStrategy$9
INFORMATION: Loaded org.testcontainers.dockerclient.NpipeSocketClientProviderStrategy from ~/.testcontainers.properties, will try it first
Feb. 02, 2026 10:17:55 AM org.testcontainers.dockerclient.DockerMachineClientProviderStrategy isApplicable
INFORMATION: docker-machine executable was not found on PATH ([REDACTED])
Feb. 02, 2026 10:17:55 AM org.testcontainers.dockerclient.DockerClientProviderStrategy lambda$getFirstValidStrategy$7
SCHWERWIEGEND: Could not find a valid Docker environment. Please check configuration. Attempted configurations were:
	NpipeSocketClientProviderStrategy: failed with exception RuntimeException (com.github.dockerjava.zerodep.shaded.org.apache.hc.core5.http.MalformedChunkCodingException: Bad chunk header: ). Root cause MalformedChunkCodingException (Bad chunk header: )As no valid configuration was found, execution cannot continue.
See https://java.testcontainers.org/on_failure.html for more details.
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.IllegalStateException: Could not find a valid Docker environment. Please see logs and check configuration
	at org.testcontainers.dockerclient.DockerClientProviderStrategy.lambda$getFirstValidStrategy$7(DockerClientProviderStrategy.java:274)
	at java.base/java.util.Optional.orElseThrow(Optional.java:403)
	at org.testcontainers.dockerclient.DockerClientProviderStrategy.getFirstValidStrategy(DockerClientProviderStrategy.java:265)
	at org.testcontainers.DockerClientFactory.getOrInitializeStrategy(DockerClientFactory.java:154)
	at org.testcontainers.DockerClientFactory.client(DockerClientFactory.java:196)
	at org.testcontainers.DockerClientFactory$1.getDockerClient(DockerClientFactory.java:108)
	at com.github.dockerjava.api.DockerClientDelegate.authConfig(DockerClientDelegate.java:109)
	at org.testcontainers.containers.GenericContainer.start(GenericContainer.java:316)
	at com.example.demo.Main.main(Main.java:9)

Additional Information

No response

[robeatoz]

I have a silimar setup and encounter the same issue.
After some debugging, I noticed that in DockerClientProviderStrategy.java#L289

strategy.info = strategy.getDockerClient().infoCmd().exec();

fails on the first execution but succeeds on further executions

Stacktrace

java.lang.RuntimeException: com.github.dockerjava.zerodep.shaded.org.apache.hc.core5.http.MalformedChunkCodingException: Bad chunk header: 
	at org.testcontainers.shaded.com.github.dockerjava.core.DefaultInvocationBuilder.get(DefaultInvocationBuilder.java:77)
	at org.testcontainers.shaded.com.github.dockerjava.core.exec.InfoCmdExec.exec(InfoCmdExec.java:24)
	at org.testcontainers.shaded.com.github.dockerjava.core.exec.InfoCmdExec.exec(InfoCmdExec.java:14)
	at org.testcontainers.shaded.com.github.dockerjava.core.command.AbstrDockerCmd.exec(AbstrDockerCmd.java:33)
	at java.base/java.lang.invoke.MethodHandle.invokeWithArguments(MethodHandle.java:733)
	at com.intellij.rt.debugger.MethodInvoker.invokeInternal(MethodInvoker.java:223)
	at com.intellij.rt.debugger.MethodInvoker.invoke0(MethodInvoker.java:26)
	at org.testcontainers.dockerclient.DockerClientProviderStrategy.tryOutStrategy(DockerClientProviderStrategy.java:289)
	at org.testcontainers.dockerclient.DockerClientProviderStrategy.lambda$getFirstValidStrategy$5(DockerClientProviderStrategy.java:263)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.ReferencePipeline$2$1.accept(ReferencePipeline.java:178)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.ReferencePipeline$2$1.accept(ReferencePipeline.java:179)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.ReferencePipeline$2$1.accept(ReferencePipeline.java:179)
	at java.base/java.util.ArrayList$ArrayListSpliterator.tryAdvance(ArrayList.java:1685)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.ReferencePipeline.forEachWithCancel(ReferencePipeline.java:129)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.AbstractPipeline.copyIntoWithCancel(AbstractPipeline.java:527)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.AbstractPipeline.copyInto(AbstractPipeline.java:513)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.AbstractPipeline.wrapAndCopyInto(AbstractPipeline.java:499)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.FindOps$FindOp.evaluateSequential(FindOps.java:150)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.AbstractPipeline.evaluate(AbstractPipeline.java:234)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.ReferencePipeline.findFirst(ReferencePipeline.java:647)
	at org.testcontainers.dockerclient.DockerClientProviderStrategy.getFirstValidStrategy(DockerClientProviderStrategy.java:264)
	at org.testcontainers.DockerClientFactory.getOrInitializeStrategy(DockerClientFactory.java:154)
	at org.testcontainers.DockerClientFactory.client(DockerClientFactory.java:196)
	at org.testcontainers.DockerClientFactory$1.getDockerClient(DockerClientFactory.java:108)
	at com.github.dockerjava.api.DockerClientDelegate.authConfig(DockerClientDelegate.java:109)
	at org.testcontainers.containers.GenericContainer.start(GenericContainer.java:316)
	at de.barmenia.cds.mongotestcontainersstarter.MongoTestcontainersStarter.createAndStartMongoDbContainer(MongoTestcontainersStarter.java:73)
	at de.barmenia.cds.mongotestcontainersstarter.MongoTestcontainersStarter.startContainer(MongoTestcontainersStarter.java:62)
	at de.barmenia.cds.mongotestcontainersstarter.MongoTestcontainersStarter.<clinit>(MongoTestcontainersStarter.java:39)
	at java.base/java.lang.Class.forName0(Native Method)
	at java.base/java.lang.Class.forName(Class.java:534)
	at java.base/java.lang.Class.forName(Class.java:513)
	at org.springframework.cglib.core.ReflectUtils.defineClass(ReflectUtils.java:581)
	at org.springframework.cglib.core.AbstractClassGenerator.generate(AbstractClassGenerator.java:375)
	at org.springframework.cglib.proxy.Enhancer.generate(Enhancer.java:575)
	at org.springframework.cglib.core.AbstractClassGenerator$ClassLoaderData.lambda$new$1(AbstractClassGenerator.java:107)
	at org.springframework.cglib.core.internal.LoadingCache.lambda$createEntry$1(LoadingCache.java:52)
	at java.base/java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.run$$$capture(FutureTask.java:317)
	at java.base/java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.run(FutureTask.java)
	at --- Async.Stack.Trace --- (captured by IntelliJ IDEA debugger)
	at java.base/java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.<init>(FutureTask.java:132)
	at org.springframework.cglib.core.internal.LoadingCache.createEntry(LoadingCache.java:52)
	at org.springframework.cglib.core.internal.LoadingCache.get(LoadingCache.java:34)
	at org.springframework.cglib.core.AbstractClassGenerator$ClassLoaderData.get(AbstractClassGenerator.java:129)
	at org.springframework.cglib.core.AbstractClassGenerator.create(AbstractClassGenerator.java:321)
	at org.springframework.cglib.proxy.Enhancer.createHelper(Enhancer.java:562)
	at org.springframework.cglib.proxy.Enhancer.createClass(Enhancer.java:407)
	at org.springframework.context.annotation.ConfigurationClassEnhancer.createClass(ConfigurationClassEnhancer.java:198)
	at org.springframework.context.annotation.ConfigurationClassEnhancer.enhance(ConfigurationClassEnhancer.java:128)
	at org.springframework.context.annotation.ConfigurationClassPostProcessor.enhanceConfigurationClasses(ConfigurationClassPostProcessor.java:539)
	at org.springframework.context.annotation.ConfigurationClassPostProcessor.postProcessBeanFactory(ConfigurationClassPostProcessor.java:311)
	at org.springframework.context.support.PostProcessorRegistrationDelegate.invokeBeanFactoryPostProcessors(PostProcessorRegistrationDelegate.java:363)
	at org.springframework.context.support.PostProcessorRegistrationDelegate.invokeBeanFactoryPostProcessors(PostProcessorRegistrationDelegate.java:153)
	at org.springframework.context.support.AbstractApplicationContext.invokeBeanFactoryPostProcessors(AbstractApplicationContext.java:791)
	at org.springframework.context.support.AbstractApplicationContext.refresh(AbstractApplicationContext.java:609)
	at org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication.refresh(SpringApplication.java:752)
	at org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication.refreshContext(SpringApplication.java:439)
	at org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication.run(SpringApplication.java:318)
	at org.springframework.boot.test.context.SpringBootContextLoader.lambda$loadContext$3(SpringBootContextLoader.java:144)
	at org.springframework.util.function.ThrowingSupplier.get(ThrowingSupplier.java:58)
	at org.springframework.util.function.ThrowingSupplier.get(ThrowingSupplier.java:46)
	at org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication.withHook(SpringApplication.java:1461)
	at org.springframework.boot.test.context.SpringBootContextLoader$ContextLoaderHook.run(SpringBootContextLoader.java:563)
	at org.springframework.boot.test.context.SpringBootContextLoader.loadContext(SpringBootContextLoader.java:144)
	at org.springframework.boot.test.context.SpringBootContextLoader.loadContext(SpringBootContextLoader.java:110)
	at org.springframework.test.context.cache.DefaultCacheAwareContextLoaderDelegate.loadContextInternal(DefaultCacheAwareContextLoaderDelegate.java:225)
	at org.springframework.test.context.cache.DefaultCacheAwareContextLoaderDelegate.loadContext(DefaultCacheAwareContextLoaderDelegate.java:152)
	at org.springframework.test.context.support.DefaultTestContext.getApplicationContext(DefaultTestContext.java:130)
	at org.springframework.test.context.web.ServletTestExecutionListener.setUpRequestContextIfNecessary(ServletTestExecutionListener.java:200)
	at org.springframework.test.context.web.ServletTestExecutionListener.prepareTestInstance(ServletTestExecutionListener.java:139)
	at org.springframework.test.context.TestContextManager.prepareTestInstance(TestContextManager.java:260)
	at org.springframework.test.context.junit.jupiter.SpringExtension.postProcessTestInstance(SpringExtension.java:159)
	at org.junit.jupiter.engine.descriptor.ClassBasedTestDescriptor.lambda$invokeTestInstancePostProcessors$10(ClassBasedTestDescriptor.java:383)
	at org.junit.jupiter.engine.descriptor.ClassBasedTestDescriptor.executeAndMaskThrowable(ClassBasedTestDescriptor.java:388)
	at org.junit.jupiter.engine.descriptor.ClassBasedTestDescriptor.lambda$invokeTestInstancePostProcessors$11(ClassBasedTestDescriptor.java:382)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.ForEachOps$ForEachOp$OfRef.accept(ForEachOps.java:184)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.ReferencePipeline$3$1.accept(ReferencePipeline.java:197)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.ReferencePipeline$2$1.accept(ReferencePipeline.java:179)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.ReferencePipeline$3$1.accept(ReferencePipeline.java:197)
	at java.base/java.util.ArrayList$ArrayListSpliterator.forEachRemaining(ArrayList.java:1708)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.AbstractPipeline.copyInto(AbstractPipeline.java:509)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.AbstractPipeline.wrapAndCopyInto(AbstractPipeline.java:499)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.ForEachOps$ForEachOp.evaluateSequential(ForEachOps.java:151)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.ForEachOps$ForEachOp$OfRef.evaluateSequential(ForEachOps.java:174)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.AbstractPipeline.evaluate(AbstractPipeline.java:234)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.ReferencePipeline.forEach(ReferencePipeline.java:596)
	at org.junit.jupiter.engine.descriptor.ClassBasedTestDescriptor.invokeTestInstancePostProcessors(ClassBasedTestDescriptor.java:382)
	at org.junit.jupiter.engine.descriptor.ClassBasedTestDescriptor.lambda$instantiateAndPostProcessTestInstance$6(ClassBasedTestDescriptor.java:293)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.ThrowableCollector.execute(ThrowableCollector.java:73)
	at org.junit.jupiter.engine.descriptor.ClassBasedTestDescriptor.instantiateAndPostProcessTestInstance(ClassBasedTestDescriptor.java:292)
	at org.junit.jupiter.engine.descriptor.ClassBasedTestDescriptor.lambda$testInstancesProvider$4(ClassBasedTestDescriptor.java:281)
	at java.base/java.util.Optional.orElseGet(Optional.java:364)
	at org.junit.jupiter.engine.descriptor.ClassBasedTestDescriptor.lambda$testInstancesProvider$5(ClassBasedTestDescriptor.java:280)
	at org.junit.jupiter.engine.execution.TestInstancesProvider.getTestInstances(TestInstancesProvider.java:27)
	at org.junit.jupiter.engine.descriptor.TestMethodTestDescriptor.lambda$prepare$0(TestMethodTestDescriptor.java:112)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.ThrowableCollector.execute(ThrowableCollector.java:73)
	at org.junit.jupiter.engine.descriptor.TestMethodTestDescriptor.prepare(TestMethodTestDescriptor.java:111)
	at org.junit.jupiter.engine.descriptor.TestMethodTestDescriptor.prepare(TestMethodTestDescriptor.java:69)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.NodeTestTask.lambda$prepare$2(NodeTestTask.java:128)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.ThrowableCollector.execute(ThrowableCollector.java:73)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.NodeTestTask.prepare(NodeTestTask.java:128)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.NodeTestTask.execute(NodeTestTask.java:95)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.SameThreadHierarchicalTestExecutorService.submit(SameThreadHierarchicalTestExecutorService.java:35)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.NodeTestTask$DefaultDynamicTestExecutor.execute(NodeTestTask.java:231)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.NodeTestTask$DefaultDynamicTestExecutor.execute(NodeTestTask.java:209)
	at org.junit.jupiter.engine.descriptor.TestTemplateTestDescriptor.execute(TestTemplateTestDescriptor.java:157)
	at org.junit.jupiter.engine.descriptor.TestTemplateTestDescriptor.lambda$executeForProvider$0(TestTemplateTestDescriptor.java:115)
	at java.base/java.util.Optional.ifPresent(Optional.java:178)
	at org.junit.jupiter.engine.descriptor.TestTemplateTestDescriptor.lambda$executeForProvider$1(TestTemplateTestDescriptor.java:115)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.ForEachOps$ForEachOp$OfRef.accept(ForEachOps.java:184)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.ReferencePipeline$3$1.accept(ReferencePipeline.java:197)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.ForEachOps$ForEachOp$OfRef.accept(ForEachOps.java:184)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.ReferencePipeline$3$1.accept(ReferencePipeline.java:197)
	at java.base/java.util.ArrayList.forEach(ArrayList.java:1596)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.SortedOps$RefSortingSink.end(SortedOps.java:395)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.Sink$ChainedReference.end(Sink.java:261)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.Sink$ChainedReference.end(Sink.java:261)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.Sink$ChainedReference.end(Sink.java:261)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.AbstractPipeline.copyInto(AbstractPipeline.java:510)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.AbstractPipeline.wrapAndCopyInto(AbstractPipeline.java:499)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.ForEachOps$ForEachOp.evaluateSequential(ForEachOps.java:151)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.ForEachOps$ForEachOp$OfRef.evaluateSequential(ForEachOps.java:174)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.AbstractPipeline.evaluate(AbstractPipeline.java:234)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.ReferencePipeline.forEach(ReferencePipeline.java:596)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.ReferencePipeline$7$1.accept(ReferencePipeline.java:276)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.ReferencePipeline$3$1.accept(ReferencePipeline.java:197)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.ReferencePipeline$3$1.accept(ReferencePipeline.java:197)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.ReferencePipeline$3$1.accept(ReferencePipeline.java:197)
	at java.base/java.util.ArrayList$ArrayListSpliterator.forEachRemaining(ArrayList.java:1708)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.AbstractPipeline.copyInto(AbstractPipeline.java:509)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.AbstractPipeline.wrapAndCopyInto(AbstractPipeline.java:499)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.ForEachOps$ForEachOp.evaluateSequential(ForEachOps.java:151)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.ForEachOps$ForEachOp$OfRef.evaluateSequential(ForEachOps.java:174)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.AbstractPipeline.evaluate(AbstractPipeline.java:234)
	at java.base/java.util.stream.ReferencePipeline.forEach(ReferencePipeline.java:596)
	at org.junit.jupiter.engine.descriptor.TestTemplateTestDescriptor.executeForProvider(TestTemplateTestDescriptor.java:114)
	at org.junit.jupiter.engine.descriptor.TestTemplateTestDescriptor.execute(TestTemplateTestDescriptor.java:103)
	at org.junit.jupiter.engine.descriptor.TestTemplateTestDescriptor.execute(TestTemplateTestDescriptor.java:43)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.NodeTestTask.lambda$executeRecursively$6(NodeTestTask.java:156)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.ThrowableCollector.execute(ThrowableCollector.java:73)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.NodeTestTask.lambda$executeRecursively$8(NodeTestTask.java:146)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.Node.around(Node.java:137)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.NodeTestTask.lambda$executeRecursively$9(NodeTestTask.java:144)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.ThrowableCollector.execute(ThrowableCollector.java:73)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.NodeTestTask.executeRecursively(NodeTestTask.java:143)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.NodeTestTask.execute(NodeTestTask.java:100)
	at java.base/java.util.ArrayList.forEach(ArrayList.java:1596)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.SameThreadHierarchicalTestExecutorService.invokeAll(SameThreadHierarchicalTestExecutorService.java:41)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.NodeTestTask.lambda$executeRecursively$6(NodeTestTask.java:160)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.ThrowableCollector.execute(ThrowableCollector.java:73)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.NodeTestTask.lambda$executeRecursively$8(NodeTestTask.java:146)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.Node.around(Node.java:137)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.NodeTestTask.lambda$executeRecursively$9(NodeTestTask.java:144)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.ThrowableCollector.execute(ThrowableCollector.java:73)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.NodeTestTask.executeRecursively(NodeTestTask.java:143)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.NodeTestTask.execute(NodeTestTask.java:100)
	at java.base/java.util.ArrayList.forEach(ArrayList.java:1596)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.SameThreadHierarchicalTestExecutorService.invokeAll(SameThreadHierarchicalTestExecutorService.java:41)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.NodeTestTask.lambda$executeRecursively$6(NodeTestTask.java:160)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.ThrowableCollector.execute(ThrowableCollector.java:73)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.NodeTestTask.lambda$executeRecursively$8(NodeTestTask.java:146)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.Node.around(Node.java:137)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.NodeTestTask.lambda$executeRecursively$9(NodeTestTask.java:144)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.ThrowableCollector.execute(ThrowableCollector.java:73)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.NodeTestTask.executeRecursively(NodeTestTask.java:143)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.NodeTestTask.execute(NodeTestTask.java:100)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.SameThreadHierarchicalTestExecutorService.submit(SameThreadHierarchicalTestExecutorService.java:35)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.HierarchicalTestExecutor.execute(HierarchicalTestExecutor.java:57)
	at org.junit.platform.engine.support.hierarchical.HierarchicalTestEngine.execute(HierarchicalTestEngine.java:54)
	at org.junit.platform.launcher.core.EngineExecutionOrchestrator.execute(EngineExecutionOrchestrator.java:201)
	at org.junit.platform.launcher.core.EngineExecutionOrchestrator.execute(EngineExecutionOrchestrator.java:170)
	at org.junit.platform.launcher.core.EngineExecutionOrchestrator.execute(EngineExecutionOrchestrator.java:94)
	at org.junit.platform.launcher.core.EngineExecutionOrchestrator.lambda$execute$0(EngineExecutionOrchestrator.java:59)
	at org.junit.platform.launcher.core.EngineExecutionOrchestrator.withInterceptedStreams(EngineExecutionOrchestrator.java:142)
	at org.junit.platform.launcher.core.EngineExecutionOrchestrator.execute(EngineExecutionOrchestrator.java:58)
	at org.junit.platform.launcher.core.DefaultLauncher.execute(DefaultLauncher.java:103)
	at org.junit.platform.launcher.core.DefaultLauncher.execute(DefaultLauncher.java:85)
	at org.junit.platform.launcher.core.DelegatingLauncher.execute(DelegatingLauncher.java:47)
	at org.junit.platform.launcher.core.InterceptingLauncher.lambda$execute$1(InterceptingLauncher.java:39)
	at org.junit.platform.launcher.core.ClasspathAlignmentCheckingLauncherInterceptor.intercept(ClasspathAlignmentCheckingLauncherInterceptor.java:25)
	at org.junit.platform.launcher.core.InterceptingLauncher.execute(InterceptingLauncher.java:38)
	at org.junit.platform.launcher.core.DelegatingLauncher.execute(DelegatingLauncher.java:47)
	at org.junit.platform.launcher.core.SessionPerRequestLauncher.execute(SessionPerRequestLauncher.java:63)
	at com.intellij.junit5.JUnit5IdeaTestRunner.startRunnerWithArgs(JUnit5IdeaTestRunner.java:66)
	at com.intellij.rt.junit.IdeaTestRunner$Repeater$1.execute(IdeaTestRunner.java:38)
	at com.intellij.rt.execution.junit.TestsRepeater.repeat(TestsRepeater.java:11)
	at com.intellij.rt.junit.IdeaTestRunner$Repeater.startRunnerWithArgs(IdeaTestRunner.java:35)
	at com.intellij.rt.junit.JUnitStarter.prepareStreamsAndStart(JUnitStarter.java:237)
	at com.intellij.rt.junit.JUnitStarter.main(JUnitStarter.java:58)
Caused by: com.github.dockerjava.zerodep.shaded.org.apache.hc.core5.http.MalformedChunkCodingException: Bad chunk header: 
	at com.github.dockerjava.zerodep.shaded.org.apache.hc.core5.http.impl.io.ChunkedInputStream.getChunkSize(ChunkedInputStream.java:275)
	at com.github.dockerjava.zerodep.shaded.org.apache.hc.core5.http.impl.io.ChunkedInputStream.nextChunk(ChunkedInputStream.java:223)
	at com.github.dockerjava.zerodep.shaded.org.apache.hc.core5.http.impl.io.ChunkedInputStream.read(ChunkedInputStream.java:147)
	at com.github.dockerjava.zerodep.shaded.org.apache.hc.core5.http.impl.io.ChunkedInputStream.close(ChunkedInputStream.java:315)
	at com.github.dockerjava.zerodep.shaded.org.apache.hc.client5.http.impl.classic.ResponseEntityProxy.streamClosed(ResponseEntityProxy.java:133)
	at com.github.dockerjava.zerodep.shaded.org.apache.hc.core5.http.io.EofSensorInputStream.checkClose(EofSensorInputStream.java:231)
	at com.github.dockerjava.zerodep.shaded.org.apache.hc.core5.http.io.EofSensorInputStream.close(EofSensorInputStream.java:175)
	at java.base/java.io.FilterInputStream.close(FilterInputStream.java:170)
	at org.testcontainers.shaded.com.github.dockerjava.core.DefaultInvocationBuilder$2.close(DefaultInvocationBuilder.java:207)
	at org.testcontainers.shaded.com.fasterxml.jackson.core.json.UTF8StreamJsonParser._closeInput(UTF8StreamJsonParser.java:251)
	at org.testcontainers.shaded.com.fasterxml.jackson.core.base.ParserBase.close(ParserBase.java:407)
	at org.testcontainers.shaded.com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ObjectMapper._readMapAndClose(ObjectMapper.java:4939)
	at org.testcontainers.shaded.com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ObjectMapper.readValue(ObjectMapper.java:3913)
	at org.testcontainers.shaded.com.github.dockerjava.core.DefaultInvocationBuilder.get(DefaultInvocationBuilder.java:75)
	... 188 more

[nils-christian]

Weirdly enough we encountered the same issue after updating our Spring Boot version without touching Testcontainers. The reason for this was the introduction of a docker-java.properties-file that set the api-version to 1.44. I would expect this to lead to a test that always fails, but it only fails sometimes. We fixed this with an own docker-java.properties-file, but it still makes me wonder whether the properties-determination is, well, non-deterministic? Or maybe the order of the provider strategies isn't and somewhere some shared static code is manipulated?

[kaspernielsen]

Some members on my team faced the same issue. They all ended up with installing Testcontainer Desktop which acts a proxy between TestContainer and the Docker daemon. The underlying issue being issues with the Windows Name Pipes/Apache HttpClient/Docker Daemon combination.

[nils-christian]

That is at least a possible solution - thank you @kaspernielsen . But do we know who the "culprit" actually is?

[cyberfrma]

Weirdly enough we encountered the same issue after updating our Spring Boot version without touching Testcontainers. The reason for this was the introduction of a docker-java.properties-file that set the api-version to 1.44. I would expect this to lead to a test that always fails, but it only fails sometimes. We fixed this with an own docker-java.properties-file, but it still makes me wonder whether the properties-determination is, well, non-deterministic? Or maybe the order of the provider strategies isn't and somewhere some shared static code is manipulated?

@nils-christian Would you mind detailing your workaround with the docker-java.properties-file? I cant find any documentation on this.

[kaspernielsen]

That is at least a possible solution - thank you @kaspernielsen . But do we know who the "culprit" actually is?

Sorry I missed your comment. It was an issue with Dockers httptclient5 (https://github.com/docker-java/docker-java/tree/main/docker-java-transport-httpclient5) that test container uses under the cover.

ERROR org.testcontainers.dockerclient.DockerClientProviderStrategy -- Could not find a valid Docker environment. Please check configuration. Attempted configurations were:
	NpipeSocketClientProviderStrategy: failed with exception RuntimeException (com.github.dockerjava.zerodep.shaded.org.apache.hc.core5.http.MalformedChunkCodingException: Bad chunk header: ). Root cause MalformedChunkCodingException (Bad chunk header: )As no valid configuration was found, execution cannot continue.

[nils-christian]

@nils-christian Would you mind detailing your workaround with the docker-java.properties-file? I cant find any documentation on this.

@cyberfrma: We assumed that the issue was present due to spring-projects/spring-boot#48514 which introduced a properties file (primarily because the issue started to occur for our devs after an update of Spring Boot although we did not upgrade Testcontainers). We tried to downgrade the docker API as described in the documentation. Unfortunately we realized in the meantime that this does not solve the issue. It still happens.

[hohwille]

I have the same issue with Quarkus. Every 2nd run fails with this error. When I stop and restart it works next time. Run after that will fail again.

[hohwille]

Caused by: com.github.dockerjava.zerodep.shaded.org.apache.hc.core5.http.MalformedChunkCodingException: Bad chunk header: 
	at com.github.dockerjava.zerodep.shaded.org.apache.hc.core5.http.impl.io.ChunkedInputStream.getChunkSize(ChunkedInputStream.java:275)
	at com.github.dockerjava.zerodep.shaded.org.apache.hc.core5.http.impl.io.ChunkedInputStream.nextChunk(ChunkedInputStream.java:223)
	at com.github.dockerjava.zerodep.shaded.org.apache.hc.core5.http.impl.io.ChunkedInputStream.read(ChunkedInputStream.java:147)
	at com.github.dockerjava.zerodep.shaded.org.apache.hc.core5.http.impl.io.ChunkedInputStream.close(ChunkedInputStream.java:315)
	at com.github.dockerjava.zerodep.shaded.org.apache.hc.client5.http.impl.classic.ResponseEntityProxy.streamClosed(ResponseEntityProxy.java:133)
	at com.github.dockerjava.zerodep.shaded.org.apache.hc.core5.http.io.EofSensorInputStream.checkClose(EofSensorInputStream.java:231)
	at com.github.dockerjava.zerodep.shaded.org.apache.hc.core5.http.io.EofSensorInputStream.close(EofSensorInputStream.java:175)
	at java.base/java.io.FilterInputStream.close(FilterInputStream.java:170)

So the error occurs while closing a stream. Actually close() method should be robust and not read new data causing exception.
Shaded apache HTTP components might be outdated.
Why not using Java http client build in the JDK? Do you still need to support Java < 9?

[qzai]

Any news or workarounds on this problem?
I'm struggling with it on various testcontainers versions (1.21.4, 2.0.3, 2.0.4).

Rancher Desktop version: 1.22.0

docker version:

Client:
 Version:           29.1.4-rd
 API version:       1.52
 Go version:        go1.25.5
 Git commit:        3c6914c
 Built:             Fri Jan  9 20:47:42 2026
 OS/Arch:           windows/amd64
 Context:           default

Server:
 Engine:
  Version:          29.1.3
  API version:      1.52 (minimum version 1.41)
  Go version:       go1.25.5
  Git commit:       fbf3ed25f893e6ce21336f1101590e40a13934f4
  Built:            Sun Dec 14 05:31:58 2025
  OS/Arch:          linux/amd64
  Experimental:     false
 containerd:
  Version:          v2.2.0
  GitCommit:        1c4457e00facac03ce1d75f7b6777a7a851e5c41
 runc:
  Version:          1.4.0
  GitCommit:        8bd78a9977e604c4d5f67a7415d7b8b8c109cdc4
 docker-init:
  Version:          0.19.0
  GitCommit:

[nils-christian]

Any news or workarounds on this problem? I'm struggling with it on various testcontainers versions (1.21.4, 2.0.3, 2.0.4).

Unfortunately no. A lot of my developers observe the issue, but so far we do not have a permanent solution.

[eddumelendez]

Hi, thanks for the report. @nils-christian, I see the version belongs to Rancher desktop, could you confirm that? Everyone else, can you update your comment with the container runtime you are using?

BTW, with latest versions 1.21.4 and 2.0.4 you do not need version property at docker-java.properties.

[nils-christian]

Hi @eddumelendez ,

Yes, we encounter the issue with Rancher desktop.

[kaspernielsen]

Hi, thanks for the report. @nils-christian, I see the version belongs to Rancher desktop, could you confirm that? Everyone else, can you update your comment with the container runtime you are using?

At least in my office:
People that that issue with API version was across runtimes (Docker, Rancher Desktop, ...)
People that had problems with MalformedChunkCodingException were all on Rancher Desktop.
All of them had issues with docker-java-transport-httpclient5 standalone as well. We tried other transports which worked fine.