supabase_vector_project container is not ready: unhealthy when using Rancher Desktop

If you're using Rancher Desktop and ran into this error when running supabase start:

supabase_vector_project container is not ready: unhealthy

You're not alone — and here's what likely caused it (and how to fix it):

🔍 Problem

Supabase CLI uses Docker under the hood, and it expects to communicate with the Docker Engine via a well-behaved socket or TCP endpoint.

Rancher Desktop (especially with containerd or non-default networking setups) can cause issues with:

• Port forwarding


• DNS resolution


• Health checks (like with the vector container)

This often results in the vector container going into an unhealthy state, crashing the entire setup.

✅ Solution

I recommend switching to Docker Desktop if you're planning to use Supabase CLI locally.

On Docker Desktop:

1. Supabase CLI is better supported and more stable


2. If needed, enable:
   "Expose daemon on tcp://localhost:2375 without TLS"
   (from Docker Desktop settings → General)

This change instantly fixed the issue for me.

Hope this saves someone hours of debugging. Feel free to comment if you've found a better way!