{"slug": "docker-space-stuck-in-app-starting-with-stale-runtime-sha", "title": "Docker Space stuck in APP_STARTING with stale runtime SHA", "summary": "A Docker Space on Hugging Face is stuck in APP_STARTING state with a stale runtime SHA, despite the app being reachable on port 7860. The issue persists after restarts and factory reboots, suggesting a stale runtime/control-plane record rather than a typical startup bug. Users are advised to contact Hugging Face support to inspect and reset the runtime state.", "body_md": "Hmm. There are many similar known Space errors, but this one feels slightly different from all of them. If you have not already done so, I think it may be better to contact Hugging Face support at `website@huggingface.co`\n\ntoo.\n\nThis does **not** look like a normal Docker Space startup problem anymore.\n\nFrom the evidence already posted, the suspicious part is not simply “the app does not start.” The unusual part is the combination of:\n\n`0.0.0.0:7860`\n\n`APP_STARTING`\n\nThat combination makes this look less like a user-code issue and more like a stale Spaces runtime/control-plane state.\n\nIn other words, I would not mainly focus on the usual fixes such as:\n\n`app_port`\n\n`EXPOSE`\n\n`startup_duration_timeout`\n\nThose checks are normally important, but they seem mostly ruled out by the current evidence.\n\nThe thing I would ask HF to inspect is something like:\n\nCould this Space have a stale runtime record, stale image metadata, or stale health/status registration? The repository HEAD is newer than the runtime SHA, while the container appears to be serving HTTP 200 on the expected Docker Space port.\n\n| Compared with previous “Space stuck” reports | This case |\n|---|---|\nSame: Docker Spaces can get stuck even when the app-side code is not obviously broken. |\nThe app appears reachable and Gunicorn is listening on `0.0.0.0:7860` . |\nSame: Some reports show stale runtime/build state after pushes, restarts, or factory rebuilds. |\nThe runtime SHA remains older than the current repo HEAD. |\nDifferent: Many older cases are ordinary port/bind/startup-timeout problems. |\nThe usual `app_port` , `EXPOSE` , bind-address, and basic health checks seem mostly ruled out here. |\nDifferent: Some stale-SHA cases are mainly `BUILDING` or queue-stall problems. |\nThis looks more like `APP_STARTING` / health-status registration staying stale while the app is reachable. |\nDifferent: Some cases recover after waiting or another rebuild. |\nHere, restart/factory reboot apparently did not advance the runtime SHA. |\n\nSo my short summary would be:\n\nWhy I do not think this is the usual Docker Space startup issueSimilar to previous stuck-Space reports, but not an exact match. The unusual part is\n\nreachable app + correct port + stale runtime SHA + failed restart/factory-reboot recovery. That smells like a stale Spaces runtime/control-plane record rather than a normal Docker/app startup bug.\n\nI would treat this as:\n\nlikely not a normal Docker Space startup failure, but a possible stale Spaces runtime/control-plane state.\n\nSince the key evidence is already in the thread, I would not spend too much time changing app code unless a new log clearly points to an app-side crash. I would escalate it and ask HF to inspect/reset the runtime record, image metadata, or health/status registration for the Space.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/docker-space-stuck-in-app-starting-with-stale-runtime-sha", "canonical_source": "https://discuss.huggingface.co/t/docker-space-stuck-in-app-starting-with-stale-runtime-sha/176992#post_2", "published_at": "2026-06-20 09:58:09+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-06-20 10:12:53.178602+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-infrastructure", "developer-tools"], "entities": ["Hugging Face", "Docker", "Gunicorn"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/docker-space-stuck-in-app-starting-with-stale-runtime-sha", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/docker-space-stuck-in-app-starting-with-stale-runtime-sha.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/docker-space-stuck-in-app-starting-with-stale-runtime-sha.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/docker-space-stuck-in-app-starting-with-stale-runtime-sha.jsonld"}}