DevOpsFixes
Docker
 Feb 4, 2026 3 min read

Fix docker-compose "network ... not found"

Why Docker Compose can't find an external network and how to declare or create it.

Problem

bash
ERROR: Network "proxy" declared as external, but could not be found.

Root cause

Your compose file declares a network as `external: true`, but that network has never been created on this host.

Solution

Create the network once

bash
docker network create proxy

Or let Compose manage it

yaml
networks:
  proxy:
    driver: bridge

Frequently asked questions

More Docker fixes

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