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Docker Compose Stack Deploy Failure: Memos Image Tag Not Found

Summary

A Docker Compose application stack failed to deploy because one service referenced a container image tag that did not exist in the registry. The work session focused on identifying the failing image reference and updating the Compose stack to a valid tag so the stack could pull and start successfully.

Environment

  • Platform: Homelab Docker host
  • Container runtime: Docker
  • Orchestration/configuration: Docker Compose
  • Reverse proxy: Traefik
  • Public/internal domain used by Traefik labels: dulynoted.cloud
  • External Docker network:
  • traefik-proxy
  • Internal Docker network:
  • joplin
  • Persistent storage root:
  • /opt/docker-apps/
  • Applications in the stack:
  • Linkding
  • Memos
  • Mealie
  • BookStack
  • BookStack MariaDB
  • Vaultwarden
  • ArchiveBox
  • Draw.io
  • Joplin Server
  • Joplin PostgreSQL

Problem

The stack failed during image pull because the Memos service referenced an image tag that Docker could not resolve:

image: neosmemo/memos:latest

Docker attempted to pull:

docker.io/neosmemo/memos:latest

but that tag was not found.

Symptoms

The observed Docker error was:

Error response from daemon: failed to resolve reference "docker.io/neosmemo/memos:latest": docker.io/neosmemo/memos:latest: not found

The failure occurred during Docker image resolution/pull, before the Memos container could start.

Actions Taken

  1. Reviewed the Docker error message to identify the failed image reference.
  2. Located the affected service in the Compose stack:
  3. Service: memos
  4. Original image: neosmemo/memos:latest
  5. Determined that the problem was specific to the Memos image tag, not the full Docker Compose stack.
  6. Updated the Memos service to use a valid tag:
image: neosmemo/memos:stable
  1. Produced an updated Compose stack with the Memos image corrected.

Key Findings

  • The issue was not caused by Traefik routing, service labels, Docker networking, bind mounts, or published ports.
  • The failure happened at the image pull/reference resolution stage.
  • The invalid reference was:
neosmemo/memos:latest
  • The corrected image reference was:
neosmemo/memos:stable

Resolution

The Memos service image was changed from:

image: neosmemo/memos:latest

to:

image: neosmemo/memos:stable

This should allow Docker Compose to pull the Memos image successfully and continue deploying the stack.

Validation

Recommended validation after applying the change:

docker compose pull memos

Purpose: Confirm that the corrected Memos image tag can be pulled successfully.

docker compose up -d memos

Purpose: Start or recreate only the Memos service after the image tag correction.

docker compose ps

Purpose: Confirm that the Memos container is running.

docker logs memos --tail 200

Purpose: Check the Memos startup logs for application-level errors.

curl -I https://memos.dulynoted.cloud

Purpose: Validate that the Traefik route, TLS endpoint, DNS, and backend service are responding.

Follow-Up Tasks

  • Rotate any passwords or secrets that were pasted into chat or stored directly in the Compose file.
  • Move sensitive values into an .env file or secret-management workflow.
  • Consider pinning versions for important services instead of using floating tags like latest.
  • Consider changing key app images to stable or versioned tags where supported.
  • Add a pre-deployment pull check to catch invalid image tags before a full stack rollout.
  • Review which services actually need host port publishing when already routed through Traefik.

Lessons Learned

  • Not every Docker image publishes a latest tag.
  • A Docker not found error during pull often means the tag or repository name is invalid, not that the container itself is misconfigured.
  • For homelab stability, stable or pinned version tags are often safer than latest.
  • Traefik routing labels only matter after the container image has been pulled and the container is running.
  • Avoid storing real credentials directly in Compose files that may be copied, shared, committed, or pasted into support conversations.

Command Reference

Command

docker compose pull

What it does

Pulls all container images defined in the current Docker Compose file.

Important flags or arguments

  • No service name was specified, so this command applies to every service in the Compose project.

Why it was used

This is the likely command that exposed the invalid Memos image reference.

Expected result

Docker should download or update all referenced images.

Success indicates

All image repositories and tags are valid and reachable.

Failure indicates

A referenced image cannot be pulled because of an invalid repository name, missing tag, registry/network issue, or authentication problem.

Risk

Low. This command pulls images but does not recreate running containers by itself.

Command

docker compose pull memos

What it does

Pulls only the image used by the memos service.

Important flags or arguments

  • memos: limits the pull operation to the Memos service.

Why it was used

Useful after changing the Memos image from neosmemo/memos:latest to neosmemo/memos:stable.

Expected result

Docker successfully pulls the corrected Memos image.

Success indicates

The corrected Memos image tag exists and is reachable.

Failure indicates

The image reference is still wrong, Docker Hub is unreachable, or there is a registry/authentication problem.

Risk

Low. This is a targeted image pull and does not recreate containers by itself.

Command

docker compose up -d

What it does

Creates, updates, and starts the full Docker Compose stack in detached mode.

Important flags or arguments

  • up: creates and starts services from the Compose file.
  • -d: detached mode; containers run in the background.

Why it was used

Used to deploy the stack after the Compose configuration was updated.

Expected result

All services start successfully.

Success indicates

The Compose file is valid, required images are available, networks exist or can be created, and containers started without immediate failure.

Failure indicates

There may be an invalid image tag, Compose syntax issue, missing external network, port conflict, permissions problem, or application startup error.

Risk

Medium. This can recreate or restart containers and may cause service downtime.

Safer alternative

For targeted validation, restart only the affected service:

docker compose up -d memos

Command

docker compose up -d memos

What it does

Creates, updates, and starts only the memos service.

Important flags or arguments

  • memos: limits the operation to the Memos service.
  • -d: detached mode.

Why it was used

Useful for applying the corrected image tag without unnecessarily restarting the entire stack.

Expected result

The Memos container starts successfully.

Success indicates

The corrected image can be pulled and the Memos container can start.

Failure indicates

There may still be an image issue, filesystem permission problem, port conflict, or application startup problem.

Risk

Low to medium. It may recreate the Memos container, but avoids touching unrelated services.

Command

docker compose ps

What it does

Shows the current status of services in the Compose project.

Important flags or arguments

No extra flags were used.

Why it was used

Useful to confirm that the Memos container is running after the image tag fix.

Expected result

The memos service should show as running.

Success indicates

Docker successfully created and started the container.

Failure indicates

If the service is missing, exited, or restarting, further log review is needed.

Risk

Low. Read-only status check.

Command

docker logs memos --tail 200

What it does

Shows the most recent log output from the memos container.

Important flags or arguments

  • memos: the container name.
  • --tail 200: displays only the last 200 log lines.

Why it was used

Useful to verify that Memos started cleanly after the image fix.

Expected result

Logs should show normal application startup.

Success indicates

The container is running and the application is not immediately crashing.

Failure indicates

Errors in the logs may point to volume permissions, configuration issues, database problems, or port binding problems.

Risk

Low. Read-only log review.

Command

curl -I https://memos.dulynoted.cloud

What it does

Sends an HTTP HEAD request to the Memos public URL.

Important flags or arguments

  • -I: fetches response headers only.
  • https://memos.dulynoted.cloud: the Traefik-routed hostname for Memos.

Why it was used

Useful to validate DNS, TLS, Traefik routing, and backend connectivity after the container starts.

Expected result

An HTTP response such as 200, 301, 302, or another valid application response.

Success indicates

The request reached Traefik and Traefik successfully routed to the Memos backend.

Failure indicates

Possible DNS issue, certificate/TLS issue, Traefik router issue, Docker network issue, or Memos backend problem.

Risk

Low. Read-only network/application check.

Corrected Memos Compose Snippet

memos:
  image: neosmemo/memos:stable
  container_name: memos
  volumes:
    - /opt/docker-apps/Memos/config:/var/opt/memos
  networks:
    - traefik-proxy
  labels:
    - traefik.enable=true
    - traefik.http.routers.memos.rule=Host(`memos.dulynoted.cloud`)
    - traefik.http.routers.memos.entrypoints=websecure
    - traefik.http.routers.memos.tls=true
    - traefik.http.services.memos.loadbalancer.server.port=5230
  ports:
    - 5230:5230
  mem_limit: 512m
  mem_reservation: 256m
  cpus: "0.8"
  cpu_shares: 256
  restart: always