ERROR: failed to build: failed to solve: base name ($BUILD_FROM) should not be blank

[askpatrickw]

2026-05-31 13:34:56.242 INFO (MainThread) [supervisor.docker.app] 
Starting build for d567a5a0/amd64-addon-smartvanio:1.0.15-beta
2026-05-31 13:34:56.245 INFO (MainThread) [supervisor.docker.manager] 
Running command '['docker', 'buildx', 'build', '.', '--tag', 
'd567a5a0/amd64-addon-smartvanio:1.0.15-beta', '--file', 'Dockerfile', '-
-platform', 'linux/amd64', '--pull', '--label', 'io.hass.version=1.0.15-
beta', '--label', 'io.hass.arch=amd64', '--label', 'io.hass.type=app', '-
-label', 'io.hass.name=Smartvan.io', '--label', 
'io.hass.description=Smartvan.io Add-on - Manage all your SmartVan 
devices in one place!', '--build-arg', 'BUILD_VERSION=1.0.15-beta', '--
build-arg', 'BUILD_ARCH=amd64']' on docker:29.3.1-cli

2026-05-31 13:34:56.662 ERROR (MainThread) [supervisor.docker.app] Docker 
build failed for d567a5a0/amd64-addon-smartvanio:1.0.15-beta (exit code 
1). Build output:
#0 building with "default" instance using docker driver
#1 [internal] load build definition from Dockerfile
#1 transferring dockerfile: 638B done
#1 WARN: InvalidDefaultArgInFrom: Default value for ARG $BUILD_FROM results in empty or invalid base image name (line 2)
#1 DONE 0.0s
 1 warning found (use docker --debug to expand):
 - InvalidDefaultArgInFrom: Default value for ARG $BUILD_FROM results in empty or invalid base image name (line 2)
Dockerfile:2
--------------------
   1 |     ARG BUILD_FROM
   2 | >>> FROM $BUILD_FROM
   3 |     
   4 |     WORKDIR /app/smartvanio
--------------------
ERROR: failed to build: failed to solve: base name ($BUILD_FROM) should not be blank

2026-05-31 13:34:56.662 ERROR (MainThread) [supervisor.apps.app] Could 
not build image for app d567a5a0_smartvanio: Docker build failed for 
d567a5a0/amd64-addon-smartvanio:1.0.15-beta (exit code 1). Build output:
#0 building with "default" instance using docker driver
#1 [internal] load build definition from Dockerfile
#1 transferring dockerfile: 638B done
#1 WARN: InvalidDefaultArgInFrom: Default value for ARG $BUILD_FROM results in empty or invalid base image name (line 2)
#1 DONE 0.0s
 1 warning found (use docker --debug to expand):
 - InvalidDefaultArgInFrom: Default value for ARG $BUILD_FROM results in 
empty or invalid base image name (line 2)
Dockerfile:2
--------------------
   1 |     ARG BUILD_FROM
   2 | >>> FROM $BUILD_FROM
   3 |     
   4 |     WORKDIR /app/smartvanio
--------------------
ERROR: failed to build: failed to solve: base name ($BUILD_FROM) should 
not be blank

[askpatrickw]

Suggested Fix for "base name ($BUILD_FROM) should not be blank"

The error happens because your Dockerfile uses:

ARG BUILD_FROM
FROM $BUILD_FROM

…but BUILD_FROM is never passed as a build argument, so FROM ends up blank.

Solution

Option 1 — Add a default value in your Dockerfile:

ARG BUILD_FROM=ghcr.io/hassio-addons/base/amd64:latest
FROM $BUILD_FROM

This is the recommended approach for HA add-ons. It lets Home Assistant Supervisor override it at build time, while also allowing local builds to work without explicitly passing the arg.

Option 2 — Pass BUILD_FROM in your build command:

docker buildx build . \
  --build-arg BUILD_FROM=ghcr.io/hassio-addons/base/amd64:latest \
  # ... rest of your args

Use the correct base image per architecture:

Architecture	Base Image
amd64	ghcr.io/hassio-addons/base/amd64:latest
aarch64	ghcr.io/hassio-addons/base/aarch64:latest
armv7	ghcr.io/hassio-addons/base/armv7:latest