Kubernetes Status UI Stuck in "Starting and Getting Nodes Ready" State

### Description

## Environment
- **Docker Desktop Version**: 4.61.0 [Also in 4.60.1, 4.60.0] 
- **OS**: Windows with WSL2
- **Kubernetes Version**: v1.34.1
- **Docker Version**: 29.2.1

## Description
The Kubernetes status panel in Docker Desktop's Navigation Bar (right sidebar) is stuck displaying "Kubernetes starting and getting nodes ready" indefinitely, even though the Kubernetes cluster is fully operational.

## Actual vs. Expected State

### What the UI Shows:
- "Kubernetes starting and getting nodes ready" (stuck)

### What `kubectl` Reports:
```
$ kubectl get nodes -o wide
NAME             STATUS   ROLES           AGE   VERSION   INTERNAL-IP    EXTERNAL-IP   OS-IMAGE         KERNEL-VERSION                     CONTAINER-RUNTIME
docker-desktop   Ready    control-plane   44m   v1.34.1   192.168.65.3   <none>        Docker Desktop   6.6.87.2-microsoft-standard-WSL2   docker://29.2.1

$ kubectl cluster-info
Kubernetes control plane is running at https://kubernetes.docker.internal:6443
CoreDNS is running at https://kubernetes.docker.internal:6443/api/v1/namespaces/kube-system/services/kube-dns:dns/proxy

$ kubectl get pods -n kube-system
NAME                                            READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
coredns-66bc5c9577-cw46t                        1/1     Running   0          44m
coredns-66bc5c9577-tfsqq                        1/1     Running   0          44m
etcd-docker-desktop                             1/1     Running   0          44m
kube-apiserver-docker-desktop                   1/1     Running   0          44m
kube-controller-manager-docker-desktop          1/1     Running   0          44m
kube-proxy-sd5p4                                1/1     Running   0          44m
kube-scheduler-docker-desktop                   1/1     Running   1 (35m ago)   44m
storage-provisioner                             1/1     Running   1 (35m ago)   44m
vpnkit-controller                               1/1     Running   0          44m
```

**Result**: All system components are running, node is Ready, and applications deploy successfully via `kubectl`.

## Troubleshooting Attempted
- ✅ Restarted Docker Desktop
- ✅ Reset Kubernetes cluster via Settings → Kubernetes → "Reset Kubernetes Cluster"
- ✅ Waited for full re-initialization (5–10 minutes)
- ✅ Verified cluster state with `kubectl get nodes`, `kubectl cluster-info`, `kubectl get pods -A` — all show healthy cluster
- ❌ Logs not found at expected locations (`%LOCALAPPDATA%\Docker\log\vm\dockerd.log`, `/var/log/docker/daemon.log`)

## Impact
The UI issue is cosmetic and does not affect cluster functionality — deployments work, `kubectl` commands succeed, and workloads run normally. However, it:
- Creates confusion about cluster status
- Prevents users from quickly verifying cluster health via the UI
- May indicate a deeper UI state synchronization bug



### Reproduce

## Current Behavior
- Docker Desktop UI shows: "Kubernetes starting and getting nodes ready" (stuck state)
- Node status in UI: Appears to be initializing
- Actual cluster state: **Fully operational and Ready**

## Steps to Reproduce
1. Enable Kubernetes in Docker Desktop Settings → Kubernetes → "Enable Kubernetes"
2. Wait for initialization to complete
3. Open Docker Desktop and navigate to the Kubernetes section in the right sidebar
4. Observe: UI shows "starting and getting nodes ready" indefinitely


### Expected behavior

The Docker Desktop UI should correctly display the Kubernetes cluster status as "Ready" or show a healthy cluster state indicator.

### docker version

```bash
Client:
 Version:           29.2.1
 API version:       1.53
 Go version:        go1.25.6
 Git commit:        a5c7197
 Built:             Mon Feb  2 17:20:16 2026
 OS/Arch:           windows/amd64
 Context:           desktop-linux

Server: Docker Desktop 4.61.0 (219004)
 Engine:
  Version:          29.2.1
  API version:      1.53 (minimum version 1.44)
  Go version:       go1.25.6
  Git commit:       6bc6209
  Built:            Mon Feb  2 17:17:24 2026
  OS/Arch:          linux/amd64
  Experimental:     false
 containerd:
  Version:          v2.2.1
  GitCommit:        dea7da592f5d1d2b7755e3a161be07f43fad8f75
 runc:
  Version:          1.3.4
  GitCommit:        v1.3.4-0-gd6d73eb8
 docker-init:
  Version:          0.19.0
  GitCommit:        de40ad0
```

### docker info

```bash
Client:
 Version:    29.2.1
 Context:    desktop-linux
 Debug Mode: false
 Plugins:
  ai: Docker AI Agent - Ask Gordon (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v1.18.0
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-ai.exe
  buildx: Docker Buildx (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.31.1-desktop.1
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-buildx.exe
  compose: Docker Compose (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v5.0.2
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-compose.exe
  debug: Get a shell into any image or container (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  0.0.47
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-debug.exe
  desktop: Docker Desktop commands (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.3.0
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-desktop.exe
  extension: Manages Docker extensions (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.2.31
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-extension.exe
  init: Creates Docker-related starter files for your project (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v1.4.0
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-init.exe
  mcp: Docker MCP Plugin (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.39.1
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-mcp.exe
  model: Docker Model Runner (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v1.0.8
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-model.exe
  offload: Docker Offload (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.5.45
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-offload.exe
  pass: Docker Pass Secrets Manager Plugin (beta) (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.0.24
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-pass.exe
  sandbox: Docker Sandbox (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.12.0
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-sandbox.exe
  sbom: View the packaged-based Software Bill Of Materials (SBOM) for an image (Anchore Inc.)
    Version:  0.6.0
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-sbom.exe
  scout: Docker Scout (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v1.19.0
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-scout.exe

Server:
 Containers: 27
  Running: 24
  Paused: 0
  Stopped: 3
 Images: 46
 Server Version: 29.2.1
 Storage Driver: overlayfs
  driver-type: io.containerd.snapshotter.v1
 Logging Driver: json-file
 Cgroup Driver: cgroupfs
 Cgroup Version: 2
 Plugins:
  Volume: local
  Network: bridge host ipvlan macvlan null overlay
  Log: awslogs fluentd gcplogs gelf journald json-file local splunk syslog
 CDI spec directories:
  /etc/cdi
  /var/run/cdi
 Discovered Devices:
  cdi: docker.com/gpu=webgpu
 Swarm: inactive
 Runtimes: io.containerd.runc.v2 nvidia runc
 Default Runtime: runc
 Init Binary: docker-init
 containerd version: dea7da592f5d1d2b7755e3a161be07f43fad8f75
 runc version: v1.3.4-0-gd6d73eb8
 init version: de40ad0
 Security Options:
  seccomp
   Profile: builtin
  cgroupns
 Kernel Version: 6.6.87.2-microsoft-standard-WSL2
 Operating System: Docker Desktop
 OSType: linux
 Architecture: x86_64
 CPUs: 8
 Total Memory: 15.62GiB
 Name: docker-desktop
 ID: fbfa1657-0a54-4289-8be6-b4e2d503e996
 Docker Root Dir: /var/lib/docker
 Debug Mode: false
 HTTP Proxy: http.docker.internal:3128
 HTTPS Proxy: http.docker.internal:3128
 No Proxy: hubproxy.docker.internal
 Labels:
  com.docker.desktop.address=npipe://\\.\pipe\docker_cli
 Experimental: false
 Insecure Registries:
  hubproxy.docker.internal:5555
  ::1/128
  127.0.0.0/8
 Live Restore Enabled: false
 Firewall Backend: iptables
```

### Diagnostics ID

461F958B-D5FC-4C46-93DD-2EF3D194648C/20260220175106

### Additional Info

## Additional Context
This appears to be a UI rendering or state synchronization bug rather than an actual cluster initialization problem. The underlying Kubernetes cluster is fully functional and ready to serve workloads.

<img width="2553" height="1328" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/f6f70730-09e9-452e-8d98-192c30bdbe69" />

<img width="1967" height="310" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/9381df22-f797-4aac-94b2-b65b36d5630a" />

---
# Docker Desktop Kubernetes UI Bug - Log Analysis Summary

## Key Findings

### 1. **Cluster Status: HEALTHY** ✅
- Node `docker-desktop` is in `Ready` state
- All system pods running (coredns, etcd, kube-apiserver, kube-controller-manager, kube-scheduler, kube-proxy, storage-provisioner, vpnkit-controller)
- Kubernetes API responding correctly
- No pod errors or restarts in kube-system namespace

### 2. **UI Issue: NOT A CLUSTER PROBLEM** 🐛
The Docker Desktop Kubernetes sidebar shows "starting and getting nodes ready" despite:
- Node being in Ready state for 54+ minutes
- All critical components fully operational
- Successful kubectl operations proving cluster works

### 3. **Possible Root Causes**
Based on logs, this appears to be:
- **UI State Sync Bug**: The UI state machine isn't updating when cluster becomes ready
- **Missing Event Handler**: The UI may not be listening to Kubernetes node ready events
- **Cache/State Persistence**: The UI may have cached an old initialization state and isn't refreshing it
- **Race Condition**: UI initialization state got stuck while cluster continued normally

### 4. **What's NOT the Problem** ❌
- Kubernetes cluster health: Fully operational
- Network connectivity: All pods communicating
- Storage provisioning: Working
- DNS resolution: CoreDNS running
- Container runtime: Docker 29.2.1 operational
- Node readiness: Status is Ready, no capacity issues

## Log Files Collected

1. **docker_desktop_k8s_logs_[timestamp].txt** - Complete diagnostic bundle containing:
   - Kubernetes node and pod status
   - Kubernetes events
   - Component logs (apiserver, controller-manager, etc.)
   - Docker Desktop backend logs
   - Docker version and configuration

## Evidence from Logs

```
NODE STATUS: Ready
  - Age: 54 minutes
  - Version: v1.34.1
  - All conditions: Ready=True

SYSTEM PODS: All Running
  - coredns: 2 replicas running
  - etcd: Running
  - kube-apiserver: Running
  - kube-controller-manager: Running
  - kube-scheduler: Running (1 restart, not recent)
  - storage-provisioner: Running (1 restart, not recent)
  - vpnkit-controller: Running

DOCKER VERSION: 29.2.1
KUBERNETES VERSION: v1.34.1
WSL2 KERNEL: 6.6.87.2-microsoft-standard-WSL2
```

Provide feedback

Saved searches

Use saved searches to filter your results more quickly

Kubernetes Status UI Stuck in "Starting and Getting Nodes Ready" State #15041

Description

Environment

Description

Actual vs. Expected State

What the UI Shows:

What `kubectl` Reports:

Troubleshooting Attempted

Impact

Reproduce

Current Behavior

Steps to Reproduce

Expected behavior

docker version

docker info

Diagnostics ID

Additional Info

Additional Context

Docker Desktop Kubernetes UI Bug - Log Analysis Summary

Key Findings

1. Cluster Status: HEALTHY ✅

2. UI Issue: NOT A CLUSTER PROBLEM 🐛

3. Possible Root Causes

4. What's NOT the Problem ❌

Log Files Collected

Evidence from Logs

Metadata

Assignees

Labels

Type

Projects

Milestone

Relationships

Development

Kubernetes Status UI Stuck in "Starting and Getting Nodes Ready" State #15041

Description

Description

Environment

Description

Actual vs. Expected State

What the UI Shows:

What kubectl Reports:

Troubleshooting Attempted

Impact

Reproduce

Current Behavior

Steps to Reproduce

Expected behavior

docker version

docker info

Diagnostics ID

Additional Info

Additional Context

Docker Desktop Kubernetes UI Bug - Log Analysis Summary

Key Findings

1. Cluster Status: HEALTHY ✅

2. UI Issue: NOT A CLUSTER PROBLEM 🐛

3. Possible Root Causes

4. What's NOT the Problem ❌

Log Files Collected

Evidence from Logs

Metadata

Metadata

Assignees

Labels

Type

Projects

Milestone

Relationships

Development

Issue actions

What `kubectl` Reports: