[BUG] Expose Range `Error response from daemon: invalid JSON: invalid port '<start>-<end>': invalid syntax`

[tmknight]

Description

Expose of port range results in invalid syntax. My first experience of this is with:
Docker version 29.0.0, build 3d4129b

Steps To Reproduce

1. Docker version 29.0.0, build 3d4129b on Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS

services:
 test:
 image: alpine
 expose:
 - "9091-9092"

docker compose -f ./text.xml run test

Error response from daemon: invalid JSON: invalid port '9091-9092: invalid syntax

Compose Version

Docker Compose version v2.40.3

Docker Environment

Client: Docker Engine - Community
 Version: 29.0.0
 Context: default
 Debug Mode: false
 Plugins:
 buildx: Docker Buildx (Docker Inc.)
 Version: v0.30.0
 Path: /usr/libexec/docker/cli-plugins/docker-buildx
 compose: Docker Compose (Docker Inc.)
 Version: v2.40.3
 Path: /usr/libexec/docker/cli-plugins/docker-compose
WARNING: Plugin "/usr/libexec/docker/cli-plugins/docker-compose_2-12-2" is not valid: plugin candidate "compose_2-12-2" did not match "^[a-z][a-z0-9]*$"

Server:
 Containers: 21
 Running: 21
 Paused: 0
 Stopped: 0
 Images: 20
 Server Version: 29.0.0
 Storage Driver: zfs
 Zpool: rpool
 Zpool Health: ONLINE
 Parent Dataset: rpool/ROOT/ubuntu_549uxf/var/lib
 Space Used By Parent: 11773657088
 Space Available: 138369679360
 Parent Quota: no
 Compression: lz4
 Logging Driver: json-file
 Cgroup Driver: systemd
 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
 Swarm: inactive
 Runtimes: runc io.containerd.runc.v2
 Default Runtime: runc
 Init Binary: docker-init
 containerd version: fcd43222d6b07379a4be9786bda52438f0dd16a1
 runc version: v1.3.3-0-gd842d771
 init version: de40ad0
 Security Options:
 apparmor
 seccomp
 Profile: builtin
 cgroupns
 Kernel Version: 6.8.0-87-generic
 Operating System: Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS
 OSType: linux
 Architecture: x86_64
 CPUs: 8
 Total Memory: 7.644GiB
 Name: tmk-svr-01
 ID: OVLQ:BHCM:EYES:2XNJ:IBFZ:ANTP:GEPH:Y5M7:FDET:EB5P:NOQB:G6VX
 Docker Root Dir: /var/lib/docker
 Debug Mode: false
 Experimental: false
 Insecure Registries:
 ::1/128
 127.0.0.0/8
 Live Restore Enabled: true
 Firewall Backend: iptables

Anything else?

No response

[idsulik]

Couldn't reproduce it, tried with this config:

services:
 test:
 image: alpine
 expose:
 - "9091-9092"

[ndeloof]

I can reproduce running docker:dind 29.0.1
looks like there is a breaking change in Docker engine

[tmknight]

Yes, now on 29.0.1 & still expose range returns invalid. Thanks @ndeloof for confirming the behavior.

[ndeloof]

I wonder this could be a side effect of moby/moby#50710

[felixfontein]

Here's a related issue on moby/moby's side: moby/moby#51537

[Neurone]

I have the same error with v4.53.0 on MacOS

~ docker version

Client:
 Version: 29.0.1
 API version: 1.52
 Go version: go1.25.4
 Git commit: eedd969
 Built: Fri Nov 14 16:16:57 2025
 OS/Arch: darwin/arm64
 Context: desktop-linux

Server: Docker Desktop 4.53.0 (211793)
 Engine:
 Version: 29.0.1
 API version: 1.52 (minimum version 1.44)
 Go version: go1.25.4
 Git commit: 198b5e3
 Built: Fri Nov 14 16:18:20 2025
 OS/Arch: linux/arm64
 Experimental: false
 containerd:
 Version: v2.1.5
 GitCommit: fcd43222d6b07379a4be9786bda52438f0dd16a1
 runc:
 Version: 1.3.3
 GitCommit: v1.3.3-0-gd842d771
 docker-init:
 Version: 0.19.0
 GitCommit: de40ad0


~ docker compose version
Docker Compose version v2.40.3-desktop.1

[ndeloof]

@Neurone please git RC release a try to confirm issue has been fixed

[Neurone]

Hi @ndeloof the latest RC (https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/tag/v5.0.0-rc.2) is one week older than the fix.
I tested anyway, just in case, but I get the same error.