Reproduces with app-emulation/docker-17.10.0 and older. Postinst doesn't complain about any missing kernel config options. Workaround: comment out "ulimit -n 1048576" in start_pre(). I don't know why this helps. Another workaround is to start "dockerd" directly from shell, or directly via start-stop-daemon, which is what init script implicitly does, I suppose: /sbin/start-stop-daemon --start --exec /usr/bin/dockerd --pidfile /run/docker.pid --verbose --background --stderr /var/log/docker-err.log --stdout /var/log/docker-out.log -- -p /run/docker.pid Console log demonstrating the issue: 19:04:19 Mon 20 Nov root@starlite ~ # rc-service docker status Authenticating root. * status: stopped [ERR=3] 19:04:31 Mon 20 Nov root@starlite ~ # rc-service docker start Authenticating root. * Caching service dependencies ... [ ok ] * Starting docker ... * start-stop-daemon: fopen `/run/docker.pid': No such file or directory * Detaching to start `/usr/bin/dockerd' ... [ ok ] [OK] 19:04:35 Mon 20 Nov root@starlite ~ # ps axfu | grep docker | grep -v grep [ERR=1] 19:06:03 Mon 20 Nov root@starlite ~ # rc-service docker status Authenticating root. * status: crashed [ERR=32] 19:06:44 Mon 20 Nov root@starlite ~ # sed -i -e 's/ulimit -n/#&/' /etc/init.d/docker [OK] 19:08:41 Mon 20 Nov root@starlite ~ # rc-service docker restart Authenticating root. * Caching service dependencies ... [ ok ] * Stopping docker ... * start-stop-daemon: fopen `/run/docker.pid': No such file or directory * Will stop /usr/bin/dockerd * Will stop processes of `/usr/bin/dockerd' * start-stop-daemon: no matching processes found [ ok ] * Starting docker ... * start-stop-daemon: fopen `/run/docker.pid': No such file or directory * Detaching to start `/usr/bin/dockerd' ... [ ok ] [OK] 19:08:50 Mon 20 Nov root@starlite ~ # ps axfu | grep docker | grep -v grep root 6476 2.6 0.4 890000 39048 ? Ssl 19:08 0:00 /usr/bin/dockerd -p /run/docker.pid --debug=true --log-level=debug root 6492 0.3 0.1 609972 9020 ? Ssl 19:08 0:00 \_ docker-containerd -l unix:///var/run/docker/libcontainerd/docker-containerd.sock --metrics-interval=0 --start-timeout 2m --state-dir /var/run/docker/libcontainerd/containerd --shim docker-containerd-shim --runtime docker-runc --debug [OK]
reopen if still actual.