error getting credentials - err: exec: "docker-credential-desktop": executable file not found in $PATH

TL;DR: Your docker config references a credential helper that does not exist on this machine. Either install Docker Desktop (which provides it) or remove the "credsStore": "desktop" line from ~/.docker/config.json so docker stores credentials in the file again. This config usually arrives by copying a Mac's ~/.docker to a Linux box.

The error

error getting credentials - err: exec: "docker-credential-desktop": executable file not found in $PATH

Fix it

1. Inspect the config:

cat ~/.docker/config.json Expected: contains "credsStore": "desktop" (or "credStore").

1. Option A (no Desktop here): delete that line, keeping valid JSON.
2. Option B (Desktop wanted): install Docker Desktop for Linux, which ships the helper.
3. Re-run docker login and verify pulls work.

When this applies

• Linux hosts with a copied-over docker config
• CI images inheriting a developer's config.json

When this does NOT apply

• "incorrect username or password" (credentials present but wrong)
• macOS with Desktop installed (helper should exist; reinstall Desktop)

Versions

All Docker versions; the credsStore mechanism is long-standing.

Why it happens

credsStore delegates credential storage to an external binary. If the binary is absent, EVERY credential read fails, including anonymous pulls that check for stored creds first.

Edge cases

• Validate JSON after editing: python3 -m json.tool ~/.docker/config.json.
• Alternatives: "credsStore": "secretservice" (Linux keyring) or pass based helpers, if you want secure storage without Desktop.
• Some distros package docker-credential-helpers separately; installing it provides docker-credential-secretservice and pass variants.