Error response from daemon: network bridge not found

TL;DR: Restart the docker daemon and it rebuilds the built-in bridge network automatically. Do NOT run docker network create bridge; a user-defined network with that name is not the same thing and will confuse the daemon.

The error

Error response from daemon: network bridge not found

Fix it

1. Confirm it is really missing:

docker network ls Expected: no bridge row in the list.

1. Restart the docker service so the daemon recreates its built-in networks:

sudo systemctl restart docker Expected: service restarts cleanly.

1. Verify:

docker network ls Expected: bridge, host, and none are back.

1. Re-run your container command.

When this applies

• The default bridge network was deleted (e.g. docker network prune with a filter, or manual docker network rm bridge)
• Fresh daemon state corruption after a crash

When this does NOT apply

• A CUSTOM network name not found (recreate that specific network instead)
• "has active endpoints" (different problem)

Versions

All Docker Engine versions.

Why it happens

bridge, host, and none are built-in networks the daemon creates at startup. They can be deleted by overly broad prune/remove commands, and unlike user networks the daemon only recreates them on restart, not on demand.

Edge cases

• Containers attached to the deleted bridge fail to start until the daemon restarts; their config still references the network ID.
• docker network prune never removes built-in networks by default, but explicit docker network rm bridge does.
• If the bridge does not come back after restart, check sudo journalctl -u docker for bridge-creation errors (often a conflicting iptables setup).