Deployment suddenly failing with "Railpack could not determine how to build the app" — Dockerfile was working before
biblionepal
HOBBYOP

2 months ago

Hi, my service was deploying successfully using a Dockerfile for several weeks.

Starting today (Mar 12), deployments are suddenly failing with:

"Railpack could not determine how to build the app"

"Script start.sh not found"

Nothing changed in our code or Dockerfile between the last working deploy and the first failed one. Our railway.json explicitly sets builder: "DOCKERFILE"

but Railpack appears to be ignoring it and running auto-detection instead.

Service: courageous-sparkle / shopify_railway / production

Build logs from first failed deploy:

- Found .dockerignore file, applying filters

- Script start.sh not found

- Railpack could not determine how to build the app.

Attempted fixes (all failed with "Error creating build plan with Railpack"):

- Added railway.toml with builder = "dockerfile"

- Added railpack.json with {"builder": "dockerfile"}

- Added nixpacks.toml with apt packages and start command

The builder setting in the service Settings page appears locked/unclickable.

Did Railway migrate from Nixpacks to Railpack for this service automatically?

If so, what is the correct configuration format to use our Dockerfile with Railpack?

Our Dockerfile is in the project root and was working fine until today. Thanks :)

Solved

7 Replies

Status changed to Awaiting Railway Response Railway 2 months ago


2 months ago

This is a known issue where Railpack is not respecting Dockerfile builder settings from config-as-code (railway.json/railway.toml) and instead runs auto-detection, which then fails. We're tracking this and working on a fix. We'll follow up here once it's resolved.


Status changed to Awaiting User Response Railway 2 months ago


nico

This is a known issue where Railpack is not respecting Dockerfile builder settings from config-as-code (railway.json/railway.toml) and instead runs auto-detection, which then fails. We're tracking this and working on a fix. We'll follow up here once it's resolved.

omarhosamcodes
PRO

2 months ago

Same Problem


Status changed to Awaiting Railway Response Railway 2 months ago


nico

This is a known issue where Railpack is not respecting Dockerfile builder settings from config-as-code (railway.json/railway.toml) and instead runs auto-detection, which then fails. We're tracking this and working on a fix. We'll follow up here once it's resolved.

biblionepal
HOBBYOP

2 months ago

Thanks for the quick response! While waiting for the fix, I've added a nixpacks.toml with providers = ["python"] and the required apt packages (tesseract-ocr, poppler-utils) as a workaround 🙂

Will this help Railpack auto-detect correctly in the meantime, or is there another recommended workaround to get Dockerfile builds working again?


biblionepal

Thanks for the quick response! While waiting for the fix, I've added a **nixpacks.toml** with `providers = ["python"]` and the required apt packages (tesseract-ocr, poppler-utils) as a workaround 🙂 Will this help Railpack auto-detect correctly in the meantime, or is there another recommended workaround to get Dockerfile builds working again?

omarhosamcodes
PRO

2 months ago

You can set the commands in the service config rather than config as a code


biblionepal
HOBBYOP

2 months ago

Thanks! I need to install system packages (tesseract-ocr, poppler-utils) as part of the build.

Can I put apt-get install -y tesseract-ocr poppler-utils && pip install -r webapp/requirements.txt in the Build Command field in service settings? Will that work?


2 months ago

Hi all, we're tracking this incident here https://status.railway.com/cmmn957fk00a512dzsoks6v40 and a fix should be out soon


Status changed to Awaiting User Response Railway 2 months ago


biblionepal
HOBBYOP

2 months ago

I think it's working now as the build went well, Thanks 🙂


Status changed to Awaiting Railway Response Railway 2 months ago


Status changed to Solved biblionepal 2 months ago


Welcome!

Sign in to your Railway account to join the conversation.

Loading...