Fix docker-credential-desktop executable file not found in $PATH

You hit something like:

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

or the sibling exec format error when Docker tries to run docker-credential-desktop.exe.

Docker is trying to call a credential helper named desktop (from Docker Desktop). That binary is not on your PATH, or you are in a Linux/WSL/CI context where the Desktop helper does not exist. Login, pull, and BuildKit then fail on credential lookup.

Fix: edit ~/.docker/config.json

Open ~/.docker/config.json and look for credsStore (with an s).

Docker Desktop often leaves:

{
  "credsStore": "desktop"
}

That is the line that triggers docker-credential-desktop. Remove "credsStore": "desktop" (or change it to a helper you actually have, like "osxkeychain" on macOS).

Leave alone if you still have a separate "credStore" key without the s. That is a different, older field; the helper that breaks people is almost always credsStore.

Example after the edit:

{
  "auths": {}
}

or, on macOS with the keychain helper:

{
  "credsStore": "osxkeychain"
}

Retry docker login / docker pull. That is usually enough.

Why this shows up

• Config was written by Docker Desktop, then you use the CLI from a shell where Desktop's helper is not installed (Homebrew Docker, Colima, remote builders, CI).
• WSL or Linux containers see a Windows .exe helper path and die with exec format error.
• A copied ~/.docker/config.json from another machine still points at desktop.

If it still fails

1. Confirm you edited the config your CLI actually reads: echo $DOCKER_CONFIG (defaults to ~/.docker).
2. Search for leftover helpers: grep -n credsStore ~/.docker/config.json.
3. On WSL, prefer a Linux-side Docker/engine config, not a Windows Desktop credsStore pointing at .exe.

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