Solving Kubernetes Image Pull Error in Docker Desktop

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Issue Description

When starting Kubernetes in Docker Desktop, you may encounter the following error while pulling images:

{"message":"starting kubernetes: pulling images: pulling from host: pulling tag \"registry.k8s.io/kube-apiserver:v1.31.4\": Error response from daemon: Head \"https://registry-1.docker.io/v2/docker/desktop-kubernetes-apiserver/manifests/v1.31.4\": Get \"https://auth.docker.io/token?scope=repository%3Adocker%2Fdesktop-kubernetes-apiserver%3Apull&service=registry.docker.io\": EOF"}

This issue occurs due to authentication failures while trying to pull images from Docker Hub or the Kubernetes image registry.

Solution: Re-authenticate with Docker Hub

A quick and effective fix is to log out and log back into Docker Hub.

Steps to Resolve:

  1. Log out from Docker Hub:docker logoutThis removes stored authentication credentials.
  2. Log back into Docker Hub:docker login
  3. Enter your Docker Hub credentials when prompted.
  4. Restart Docker Desktop:
    • Quit Docker Desktop completely.
    • Restart Docker Desktop and wait for it to initialize Kubernetes again.
  5. Verify Image Pulling: Run the following command to check if Kubernetes can pull images now:docker pull registry.k8s.io/kube-apiserver:v1.31.4
  6. If the image pulls successfully, the issue is resolved.