What Happened (Impact and Symptoms)
Starting in mid‑February 2026, many Chef users began seeing previously stable CI pipelines fail when running Test Kitchen as part of cookbook testing. These failures appeared suddenly and without any changes to cookbooks, Test Kitchen configuration or CI definitions.
The failures primarily affected pipelines that:
• Use Chef Workstation
• Run Test Kitchen with the Dokken driver
• Execute on CI environments that updated Docker Server to 29.x, most notably GitHub Actions hosted runners
In affected pipelines, Test Kitchen runs began failing during Docker‑based execution.
Common characteristics included:
• Test Kitchen successfully invoking Docker
• Docker containers starting as expected
• Commands inside the container failing to execute correctly, causing Kitchen runs to exit with errors
A simplified example of what users typically saw looked like this:
Re‑running jobs did not resolve the issue unless a workaround was applied. Local development environments often continued to work, which added to confusion. The breakage surfaced most clearly in CI systems where Docker was updated to version 29.x which introduced a breaking change.
Why Did this Happen?
The root cause of this issue is an incompatibility between Docker 29.x and the version of the Test Kitchen Dokken driver bundled with existing Chef Workstation releases. GitHub Actions updated their hosted runners from Docker 28.x to Docker 29.x, introducing a breaking change in how commands are passed into containers. Because CI environments typically update underlying infrastructure automatically, this change rolled out broadly without user intervention.
Chef Workstation bundles a set of Test Kitchen and driver dependencies. In affected versions, including Chef Workstation 25.x, the bundled version of kitchen-dokken predates this Docker change and cannot handle the updated container command behavior. When Test Kitchen attempts to execute commands inside Docker containers using this older driver, command execution fails, causing CI pipelines to break.
This issue was not caused by cookbook changes, Test Kitchen configuration changes,or a Chef Workstation release.
A fix exists upstream in kitchen-dokken 2.21.4 and later, but those versions are not included in existing Chef Workstation releases. This is why manual workarounds are currently required to restore affected CI pipelines.
Who Is Affected?
This issue impacts users running Test Kitchen with the kitchen-dokken driver via Chef Workstation, particularly Chef Workstation 25.x, in CI environments that have updated Docker to version 29.x, such as GitHub Actions hosted runners.
Users who do not use the Dokken driver or pin Docker to earlier versions are not affected.
What Can You Do?
While a permanent fix is being worked on, the following temporary workarounds can be used to unblock affected CI pipelines.
Important context:
These workarounds were first identified and shared by members of the Chef community who were directly impacted and were debugging broken pipelines. Chef engineers have since reviewed and validated these approaches while working toward an official resolution.
Preferred Workaround: Upgrade kitchen-dokken in CI
The most reliable workaround is to force‑install a newer version of the kitchen-dokken driver after installing Chef Workstation in your CI environment.
Community contributors identified that this issue is resolved in kitchen-dokken 2.21.4 and later. Because existing Chef Workstation releases bundle an older version of this driver, installing a newer version restores Test Kitchen functionality
At a high level, this involves:
• Installing Chef Workstation as usual
• Installing a newer kitchen-dokken gem (version 2.21.4 or later)
• Ensuring Test Kitchen resolves to the updated driver
(this may require adjusting PATH or gem resolution order)
This approach:
• Was discovered and proven by community members
• Has been reviewed and validated by Chef engineers as a safe temporary mitigation
• Has successfully restored pipelines on GitHub Actions and similar CI systems
Why is this the preferred workaround
• It directly addresses the compatibility issue
• It does not require pinning or modifying CI runner infrastructure
• It works on managed CI platforms where Docker versions cannot easily be controlled
Caveats
• Some pipelines may require additional PATH manipulation
• Behavior may differ if InSpec verifiers are used alongside Test Kitchen
Alternative Workaround: Downgrade Docker in CI
Another workaround is to downgrade Docker in the CI environment to a version before 29.x.
This can be effective in certain scenarios, particularly when:
• InSpec verifiers are tightly coupled to specific Test Kitchen versions
• Installing or isolating a newer kitchen-dokken version is difficult
However, this approach is less preferred because:
• It is more invasive
• It may not be possible on managed CI platforms
• It relies on pinning infrastructure rather than addressing the compatibility issue directly
Where possible, upgrading kitchen-dokken is the recommended path.
Important Notes
• These workarounds are temporary and not intended as long‑term solutions
• Re‑running failed jobs without applying a workaround will not resolve the issue
• Different pipelines may require slightly different adjustments depending on verifier usage and how Chef Workstation is installed
Looking Forward
Progress Chef is actively working towards a permanent fix and shipping a release of the workstation as soon as possible. Workstation 25.13.x, including kitchen-dokken 2.21.4 or later, is tentatively expected to be released in the next couple of weeks. We will update the exact date as we get closer to the release. Post-release, users will be able to use CI pipelines without any workarounds and may revert any temporary changes. We understand changes to hosting infrastructure can cause difficult disruptions and as always, we are working to minimize the impact of such events.
For further queries, please contact support or your dedicated account manager. Community users, please stay tuned to updates on Slack.
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