[Bug]: failed to retreive image info

Bug Report Checklist

• I checked existing issues and found no duplicates.
• I have reviewed Watchtower's documentation and confirmed compliance with documented configuration specifications.
• I have restarted Docker, re-pulled the latest image, and confirmed that the issue persists.

Bug Description

Hi I'm havin' big trouble since a while with watchtower. It tried differnt thins but nothing worked. Since I upgraded to prevoius and then to the latest image I constantly get EVERY MINUTE! an telegram message.

with this content:

Watchtower updates on 8ced7151d1ad
Failed to retrieve image info

every night when the cron job runs (I assume) watchtower gets active checks all (enabled) containers and fails to gather info about this container.

It turns out that it's the container of watchtower itself:

root@docker:~# docker ps | grep d1ad
8ced7151d1ad   nickfedor/watchtower:latest                                      "/watchtower"            14 hours ago    Up 6 seconds (health: starting)   0.0.0.0:48080->8080/tcp, [::]:48080->8080/tcp                                                                                                 watchtower
root@docker:~# 

I stopped and removed the watchtower container completely and repulled it. The watchtower container gets a new "number" every time. Tried it three times...

But no matter how often I stop watchtower: Every night at about 2 AM it comes to live and then spams me with telegram messages until I manually stop it.

Every time watchtower starts I get this message: Watchtower updates on 8ced7151d1ad Failed to retrieve image info Failed to retrieve image info Published port detected - self-updates disabled.

Steps to Reproduce

I even enabled HTTP API to get insights in my homeassist instance. But the problem does exist even when I disable the API.

find my composer-file below in the issue.

after running with debug option the message changed to this:

Watchtower updates on 7e74cb78c1a2 Failed to retrieve image info Failed to retrieve image info Published port detected - self-updates disabled.

• right after this message:

Watchtower updates on 7e74cb78c1a2 Watchtower 1.22.2 using Docker API v1.55 Using notifications: telegram HTTP API and periodic updates enabled Next scheduled run: 2026-09-20 11:46:53 CEST in 23 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds

Expected Behavior

no messasge every minute ;-)

Watchtower Version

latest pulled a week before

Docker Version

root@docker:~# docker version
Client: Docker Engine - Community
 Version:           29.6.1
 API version:       1.55
 Go version:        go1.26.4
 Git commit:        8900f1d
 Built:             Fri Jun 26 11:40:26 2026
 OS/Arch:           linux/amd64
 Context:           default

Server: Docker Engine - Community
 Engine:
  Version:          29.6.1
  API version:      1.55 (minimum version 1.40)
  Go version:       go1.26.4
  Git commit:       8ec5ab3
  Built:            Fri Jun 26 11:40:26 2026
  OS/Arch:          linux/amd64
  Experimental:     false
 containerd:
  Version:          v2.2.5
  GitCommit:        e53c7c1516c3b2bff98eb76f1f4117477e6f4e66
 runc:
  Version:          1.3.6
  GitCommit:        v1.3.6-0-g491b69ba
 docker-init:
  Version:          0.19.0
  GitCommit:        de40ad0
root@docker:~#

Docker Info (optional)

root@docker:~# docker info
Client: Docker Engine - Community
 Version:    29.6.1
 Context:    default
 Debug Mode: false
 Plugins:
  buildx: Docker Buildx (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.35.0
    Path:     /usr/libexec/docker/cli-plugins/docker-buildx
  compose: Docker Compose (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v5.3.0
    Path:     /usr/libexec/docker/cli-plugins/docker-compose

Server:
 Containers: 59
  Running: 37
  Paused: 0
  Stopped: 22
 Images: 63
 Server Version: 29.6.1
 Storage Driver: overlay2
  Backing Filesystem: extfs
  Supports d_type: true
  Using metacopy: false
  Native Overlay Diff: true
  userxattr: true
 Logging Driver: json-file
 Cgroup Driver: systemd
 Cgroup Version: 2
 Plugins:
  Volume: local local-persist
  Network: bridge host ipvlan macvlan null overlay
  Log: awslogs fluentd gcplogs gelf journald json-file local splunk syslog
 CDI spec directories:
  /etc/cdi
  /var/run/cdi
 Swarm: inactive
 Runtimes: io.containerd.runc.v2 runc
 Default Runtime: runc
 Init Binary: docker-init
 containerd version: e53c7c1516c3b2bff98eb76f1f4117477e6f4e66
 runc version: v1.3.6-0-g491b69ba
 init version: de40ad0
 Security Options:
  apparmor
  seccomp
   Profile: builtin
  cgroupns
 Kernel Version: 7.0.14-3-pve
 Operating System: Ubuntu 24.04.4 LTS
 OSType: linux
 Architecture: x86_64
 CPUs: 2
 Total Memory: 8GiB
 Name: docker
 ID: HDMV:UZTV:BLKO:CCU3:T6CW:I52F:C3XD:LX3A:H4WJ:G5AU:OFMS:33UH
 Docker Root Dir: /var/lib/docker
 Debug Mode: false
 Experimental: false
 Insecure Registries:
  ::1/128
  127.0.0.0/8
 Live Restore Enabled: false
 Firewall Backend: iptables
  EnableUserlandProxy: true
  UserlandProxyPath: /usr/bin/docker-proxy

root@docker:~#

Docker Compose Configuration

---
version: '3.7'

services:
  watchtower:
    image: nickfedor/watchtower:latest
    container_name: watchtower
    restart: always
    networks:
      - traefik_proxy
    volumes:
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
      - /etc/timezone:/etc/timezone:ro
    ports:
      - 48080:8080
    environment:
      TZ: Europe/Berlin
      WATCHTOWER_CLEANUP: true
      WATCHTOWER_LABEL_ENABLE: true
      #WATCHTOWER_INCLUDE_RESTARTING: true
      WATCHTOWER_NOTIFICATIONS: shoutrrr
      WATCHTOWER_NOTIFICATION_URL: telegram://**********
      WATCHTOWER_NOTIFICATION_REPORT: true
      WATCHTOWER_NOTIFICATION_TEMPLATE: |
          {{- if .Report -}}
            {{- with .Report -}}
          {{len .Scanned}} Scanned, {{len .Updated}} Updated, {{len .Failed}} Failed
                {{- range .Updated}}
          - {{.Name}} ({{.ImageName}}): {{.CurrentImageID.ShortID}} updated to {{.LatestImageID.ShortID}}
                {{- end -}}
                {{- range .Fresh}}
          - {{.Name}} ({{.ImageName}}): {{.State}}
              {{- end -}}
              {{- range .Skipped}}
          - {{.Name}} ({{.ImageName}}): {{.State}}: {{.Error}}
              {{- end -}}
              {{- range .Failed}}
          - {{.Name}} ({{.ImageName}}): {{.State}}: {{.Error}}
              {{- end -}}
            {{- end -}}
          {{- else -}}
            {{range .Entries -}}{{.Message}}{{"\n"}}{{- end -}}
          {{- end -}}
      WATCHTOWER_DEBUG: false
      WATCHTOWER_LOG_LEVEL: warn
      WATCHTOWER_INCLUDE_STOPPED: true
      WATCHTOWER_MONITOR_ONLY: false
      #WATCHTOWER_ROLLING_RESTART: true
      #WATCHTOWER_POLL_INTERVAL: 600
      #WATCHTOWER_HTTP_API_METRICS: false
      #WATCHTOWER_HTTP_API_PERIODIC_POLLS: false
      WATCHTOWER_HTTP_API_TOKEN: ****
      WATCHTOWER_HTTP_API_ENDPOINTS: health,metrics,update,containers,check,config,events
      WATCHTOWER_HTTP_API_EVENTS_TOKEN: *****
      #WATCHTOWER_HTTP_API_UPDATE: false
      #WATCHTOWER_SCHEDULE: "0 0 4 * * *" 

      WATCHTOWER_HTTP_API_METRICS: "true"
      WATCHTOWER_HTTP_API_UPDATE: "true"
      # wichtig, wenn der normale Zeitplan weiterhin laufen soll
      WATCHTOWER_HTTP_API_PERIODIC_POLLS: "true"
      
    labels:
      - "com.centurylinklabs.watchtower.enable: false"

networks:
  traefik_proxy:
    external: true
  default:
    driver: bridge

Docker CLI Command

Debug Logs

time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Created new container instance" container=immich_redis id=f06329c1ac76 image=sha256:bcc373d8f1ec874f2fc597e45e1976d6396011425442f6f2a74c9760932cc833 time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Inspecting container" container_id=83cb764bde6be95d0f5e91279a107cc0048ae493417b780004a2199b221b72dc time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Retrieved container and image info" container_id=83cb764bde6be95d0f5e91279a107cc0048ae493417b780004a2199b221b72dc image=sha256:87e5e4f325cbf21fc3a8ada0bae1359c9d9b0db01322569fff721a0c6e9a0749 time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Created new container instance" container=immich_machine_learning id=83cb764bde6b image=sha256:87e5e4f325cbf21fc3a8ada0bae1359c9d9b0db01322569fff721a0c6e9a0749 time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Inspecting container" container_id=03828ae8dd251a408ed916b0541ea133356ee43977fc6a66d12385d13f0695c3 time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Retrieved container and image info" container_id=03828ae8dd251a408ed916b0541ea133356ee43977fc6a66d12385d13f0695c3 image=sha256:bd6796feb51551756cd8eb1fcb985c2e603cb63adbaeb1192aec59fb3fa325ac time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Created new container instance" container=traefik id=03828ae8dd25 image=sha256:bd6796feb51551756cd8eb1fcb985c2e603cb63adbaeb1192aec59fb3fa325ac time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Inspecting container" container_id=6a34435d8cea3be3f64bdb85411e75b00d6a911634cbe9833a738234b630c6ef time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Retrieved container and image info" container_id=6a34435d8cea3be3f64bdb85411e75b00d6a911634cbe9833a738234b630c6ef image=sha256:01ef6b2dd326d80d45efd97ba6619495b7e7a375223aa81fcd108a05bffaa78f time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Created new container instance" container=rootcahelper-api id=6a34435d8cea image=sha256:01ef6b2dd326d80d45efd97ba6619495b7e7a375223aa81fcd108a05bffaa78f time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Inspecting container" container_id=93c6b479e794cfbf56205cf506e64e8e8efc41ca28c4b84e34c4fbf52e982fd7 time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Retrieved container and image info" container_id=93c6b479e794cfbf56205cf506e64e8e8efc41ca28c4b84e34c4fbf52e982fd7 image=sha256:30acc8a5104842d19afbfbcc6b84f5161fd6ff1c3b38b1be52ed2f3f2e28a329 time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Created new container instance" container=rootcahelper-frontend id=93c6b479e794 image=sha256:30acc8a5104842d19afbfbcc6b84f5161fd6ff1c3b38b1be52ed2f3f2e28a329 time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Inspecting container" container_id=5fe5149f9610ceb217ea074cbc513a5b5d31a0580363a307133acf67cfc52f6e time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Retrieved container and image info" container_id=5fe5149f9610ceb217ea074cbc513a5b5d31a0580363a307133acf67cfc52f6e image=sha256:aac8a52c5b16558f44d5fa6595a30d6c86d102fedec4f86629c6253cc41f0404 time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Created new container instance" container=samba_server id=5fe5149f9610 image=sha256:aac8a52c5b16558f44d5fa6595a30d6c86d102fedec4f86629c6253cc41f0404 time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Inspecting container" container_id=b4b73ee0d406bcd78a0cd52809fd912322c35ae5b3f3d153620b20fd32fb203d time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Retrieved container and image info" container_id=b4b73ee0d406bcd78a0cd52809fd912322c35ae5b3f3d153620b20fd32fb203d image=sha256:bb7ba9626731f5919cea26f919bbc204fb031533cdf8742cde45d08e16ce2e0f time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Created new container instance" container=it-tools id=b4b73ee0d406 image=sha256:bb7ba9626731f5919cea26f919bbc204fb031533cdf8742cde45d08e16ce2e0f time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Inspecting container" container_id=ac828ea20bf1eb310bdbc3e5413b0ba1d025fb4dfddb342a5dc5bd7e24bfface time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Retrieved container and image info" container_id=ac828ea20bf1eb310bdbc3e5413b0ba1d025fb4dfddb342a5dc5bd7e24bfface image=sha256:b9a516d5ed56fe2f70c32c561bb001d4ee4fe809e2d215e3f96d5ff2740bf1c0 time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Created new container instance" container=docker-gc-cron id=ac828ea20bf1 image=sha256:b9a516d5ed56fe2f70c32c561bb001d4ee4fe809e2d215e3f96d5ff2740bf1c0 time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Inspecting container" container_id=99ff307b8438564627fb4b3af139a22d43a241d19989bce798edf2c88a4c6245 time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Retrieved container and image info" container_id=99ff307b8438564627fb4b3af139a22d43a241d19989bce798edf2c88a4c6245 image=sha256:f7906bf5cc83cbe693a8c73f4474f1344de45fa21d5c25abbce81924d954f26d time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Created new container instance" container=calibre id=99ff307b8438 image=sha256:f7906bf5cc83cbe693a8c73f4474f1344de45fa21d5c25abbce81924d954f26d time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Inspecting container" container_id=02a606493a9205e8d732e05d4a097fe5fdef025a8cb4b72171caa1d79e7ed13b time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Retrieved container and image info" container_id=02a606493a9205e8d732e05d4a097fe5fdef025a8cb4b72171caa1d79e7ed13b image=sha256:6e4149b21b45ad8584d2c23312faf12c74edc9de8736e3af0338b4ea9e302d8d time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Created new container instance" container=heimdall id=02a606493a92 image=sha256:6e4149b21b45ad8584d2c23312faf12c74edc9de8736e3af0338b4ea9e302d8d time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Inspecting container" container_id=859cf0b0594feaea47a4390b39873a3146cfbe3229e4e67678f94f72d8b1c62d time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Retrieved container and image info" container_id=859cf0b0594feaea47a4390b39873a3146cfbe3229e4e67678f94f72d8b1c62d image=sha256:145d384f2fb709a5ec405665fb480c6c30fbe7d85e9644f09b595dae932ab884 time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Created new container instance" container=mariadb-phpmyadmin-1 id=859cf0b0594f image=sha256:145d384f2fb709a5ec405665fb480c6c30fbe7d85e9644f09b595dae932ab884 time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Inspecting container" container_id=fa246c1c7d393be0e127e44bb0192afadef8399358acf565721ec3528ff97682 time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Retrieved container and image info" container_id=fa246c1c7d393be0e127e44bb0192afadef8399358acf565721ec3528ff97682 image=sha256:3e87f8bfed4eada6efeb9a7a3d3b0c052c7cdf9742ede2498ef053e795fc6721 time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Created new container instance" container=mariadb id=fa246c1c7d39 image=sha256:3e87f8bfed4eada6efeb9a7a3d3b0c052c7cdf9742ede2498ef053e795fc6721 time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Inspecting container" container_id=647797d17372003719ee681d1a278246b9fd8c8958e6c9745554cf82e583cc17 time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Retrieved container and image info" container_id=647797d17372003719ee681d1a278246b9fd8c8958e6c9745554cf82e583cc17 image=sha256:bd66ca2798e353251eee9bcfe7e1cda22873bf27bc2663f2f54de80784cdacaf time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Created new container instance" container=netbootxyz id=647797d17372 image=sha256:bd66ca2798e353251eee9bcfe7e1cda22873bf27bc2663f2f54de80784cdacaf time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Inspecting container" container_id=34f41d8f8ef52205cf526e5cae4b2e1e74ead4637a41d54a4c5059beef0b34ca time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Retrieved container and image info" container_id=34f41d8f8ef52205cf526e5cae4b2e1e74ead4637a41d54a4c5059beef0b34ca image=sha256:f3265d9afeb384b78968ad17a77c708b122adc99cad9f7d3d94eb739d4dc4ebd time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Created new container instance" container=dupeguru-dupeguru-1 id=34f41d8f8ef5 image=sha256:f3265d9afeb384b78968ad17a77c708b122adc99cad9f7d3d94eb739d4dc4ebd time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Inspecting container" container_id=59fa8697241dbbe031b2d0b606ae62061878438b3a1304db1a987a7ee6fb0e6d time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Retrieved container and image info" container_id=59fa8697241dbbe031b2d0b606ae62061878438b3a1304db1a987a7ee6fb0e6d image=sha256:1b1d9425404b298487519a7c3c40efa453c55193abd9d882f4cea2cd92da4553 time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Created new container instance" container=speedtest id=59fa8697241d image=sha256:1b1d9425404b298487519a7c3c40efa453c55193abd9d882f4cea2cd92da4553 time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Inspecting container" container_id=633b0055d1a8103d8a091ee0fd563b8cbaac6cb648bafc918af18ed119cd6c08 time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Retrieved container and image info" container_id=633b0055d1a8103d8a091ee0fd563b8cbaac6cb648bafc918af18ed119cd6c08 image=sha256:5a71bc6fad665d048e06fb0f32c8f43753052ee1a4ccff312511d5cedd32e41c time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Created new container instance" container=diun id=633b0055d1a8 image=sha256:5a71bc6fad665d048e06fb0f32c8f43753052ee1a4ccff312511d5cedd32e41c time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Inspecting container" container_id=48b8002bd17eac2d25321ecc009174065bc5b8d4be828788955ca185d4a6291f time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Retrieved container and image info" container_id=48b8002bd17eac2d25321ecc009174065bc5b8d4be828788955ca185d4a6291f image=sha256:bc67af9b2264269d9b2fdc65a8a9786878605d23ac63e472fdbbb49ef78697e8 time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Created new container instance" container=test-authority id=48b8002bd17e image=sha256:bc67af9b2264269d9b2fdc65a8a9786878605d23ac63e472fdbbb49ef78697e8 time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Inspecting container" container_id=8c2177bcac5be1b1763108626a9fd8809eb4d87a8cae05c31526fbac8143bb49 time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Retrieved container and image info" container_id=8c2177bcac5be1b1763108626a9fd8809eb4d87a8cae05c31526fbac8143bb49 image=sha256:4295e8097c4b4bccbaee543419a048cdef91726dc089f327cc876891d72418fb time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Created new container instance" container=keeweb id=8c2177bcac5b image=sha256:4295e8097c4b4bccbaee543419a048cdef91726dc089f327cc876891d72418fb time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Inspecting container" container_id=d57b80c19d08113525dcbda571310327a76e69d8a214f58271ddc018cede3eee time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Retrieved container and image info" container_id=d57b80c19d08113525dcbda571310327a76e69d8a214f58271ddc018cede3eee image=sha256:e6cf3e8ab8faaeae4f07dc3ea230fb860a6e6d9716cf98d16af2582b0c77ae2b time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Created new container instance" container=beets id=d57b80c19d08 image=sha256:e6cf3e8ab8faaeae4f07dc3ea230fb860a6e6d9716cf98d16af2582b0c77ae2b time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Inspecting container" container_id=7acea2e8f33b7b49e8452af0195de65fa393913b8da99465f9f2b8c8b8f07c43 time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Retrieved container and image info" container_id=7acea2e8f33b7b49e8452af0195de65fa393913b8da99465f9f2b8c8b8f07c43 image=sha256:2b29d3ffb107fbd9ceb71c634f54aebecd4cd2d68a3116824510fb28ea44c240 time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Created new container instance" container=picard id=7acea2e8f33b image=sha256:2b29d3ffb107fbd9ceb71c634f54aebecd4cd2d68a3116824510fb28ea44c240 time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Inspecting container" container_id=4462b4436908ce2109b91bc3aeba3ecb238e93a4748a9dea6d2321db1ce26198 time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Retrieved container and image info" container_id=4462b4436908ce2109b91bc3aeba3ecb238e93a4748a9dea6d2321db1ce26198 image=sha256:c245973be0cf1fc04d6091ad42495883f7005586c9e474169dc0d26122129aff time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Created new container instance" container=swag id=4462b4436908 image=sha256:c245973be0cf1fc04d6091ad42495883f7005586c9e474169dc0d26122129aff time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Inspecting container" container_id=937a7a92eb60c64a6796eae654ce7741aaf43cf47fb3206984db1b535a3b7bab time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Retrieved container and image info" container_id=937a7a92eb60c64a6796eae654ce7741aaf43cf47fb3206984db1b535a3b7bab image=sha256:a264576a19d25f084661c178c7f44b8f4e31cb36418f95ffc570cf3e02fe6b5a time=2026-09-19T11:46:53+02:00 level=debug msg="Created new container instance" container=duckdns id=937a7a92eb60 image=sha256:a