Seems “No application file” error is already solved…?
What’s happening, why it’s confusing, and how to fix it fast
Current state (what I can see)
- Your Space is a Docker Space (
sdk: docker in README) and shows a red build error banner with a short summary that ends in “Reason: cache miss: [6/6] COPY . . …” (this is just a BuildKit summary line, not the real failure reason). (Hugging Face)
- The repo does contain
Dockerfile, app.py, requirements.txt (so the “No application file” banner is misleading in Docker mode; it really means “no runnable image yet”). (Hugging Face)
requirements.txt pins pydantic<2.0 while you install gradio==4.25.0. Modern Gradio explicitly requires Pydantic v2 (bounded <2.12 today). That resolver conflict alone can fail the build. (Hugging Face)- Your
Dockerfile uses python:3.9-slim. Current Gradio requires Python ≥ 3.10, so even with the right Pydantic, the image is on an unsupported Python. (Hugging Face)
Background: two layers of failure (infra + repo)
-
Infra/registry push hiccup (misleading “cache miss/EOF”).
Over the last couple of days, multiple Spaces failed at the image push step with io.EOF from Hugging Face’s internal registry. Staff acknowledged the registry incident and said it’s fixed, but stale images often need a clean rebuild to clear the bad state. When this happens, the UI sometimes only surfaces the BuildKit “cache miss … COPY/RUN …” lines, which looks like your case. (Hugging Face Forums)
-
Real build blockers in your repo.
Even if the registry path is healthy, your current Pydantic v1 pin + Gradio 4.25 + Python 3.9 combination is incompatible and can stop the build before it ever runs your app. Fixing these versions removes deterministic build failures. (Hugging Face)
Fix now: two clean paths
Option A — Keep Docker (robust, explicit)
Edit 1: requirements.txt (resolve Gradio/Pydantic)
# Pin to versions that currently resolve cleanly with Gradio 4.x
gradio==4.25.0 # https://pypi.org/project/gradio/
pydantic>=2,<2.12 # https://github.com/gradio-app/gradio/issues/12118
transformers>=4.41,<5 # https://huggingface.co/docs/transformers
diffusers>=0.27,<1 # https://huggingface.co/docs/diffusers
accelerate>=0.31,<1 # https://huggingface.co/docs/accelerate
reportlab
Pillow
(Why: Gradio 4.x requires Pydantic v2; bounding <2.12 matches the current upper cap referenced by maintainers.) (GitHub)
Edit 2: Dockerfile (use Python 3.10+, optional Torch-CPU)
# Dockerfile (minimal, works on Spaces)
# Docs: https://huggingface.co/docs/hub/en/spaces-sdks-docker
FROM python:3.10-slim
# Prevent .pyc files, speed up logs, set Gradio host/port
ENV PIP_DISABLE_PIP_VERSION_CHECK=1 \
PYTHONDONTWRITEBYTECODE=1 \
PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1 \
GRADIO_SERVER_NAME=0.0.0.0 \
GRADIO_SERVER_PORT=7860
WORKDIR /app
COPY requirements.txt /app/
# Upgrade pip, install deps
RUN pip install --no-cache-dir --upgrade pip && \
pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt
# If you need Torch on CPU, add (pin to a CPU wheel):
# RUN pip install --no-cache-dir --index-url https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cpu torch==2.3.1
# (https://pytorch.org/get-started/previous-versions/)
COPY . /app
EXPOSE 7860
CMD ["python", "-u", "app.py"]
(Why: Gradio 4.x needs Python ≥3.10; the env vars ensure it binds to 0.0.0.0:7860 inside Docker. Your app.py already calls demo.launch(server_name="0.0.0.0"), which is fine.) (PyPI)
Then push a tiny commit and run Factory reboot once to purge the broken image and force a clean build. (Hugging Face Forums)
Option B — Drop Docker and use the managed Gradio runner (simplest)
If you don’t need custom system packages, delete the Dockerfile and switch to the Gradio SDK. Add this YAML block at the very top of README.md:
---
title: AI Story Generator
sdk: gradio # https://huggingface.co/docs/hub/en/spaces-sdks-gradio
sdk_version: 4.25.0
app_file: app.py
python_version: 3.10 # requires >=3.10 for gradio 4.x
pinned: false
license: mit
---
(Why: SDK Spaces auto-provision Python and build the environment for you; this also sidesteps any remaining registry/push flakiness from Docker.) (Hugging Face)
Clear step-by-step checklist (redundant by design)
-
Fix versions
- Change
pydantic<2.0 → pydantic>=2,<2.12. (GitHub)
- Ensure Python ≥3.10 (Dockerfile base or
python_version: 3.10 in README). (PyPI)
-
Choose a path
- Docker path: Keep Dockerfile (updated above). (Hugging Face)
- SDK path: Delete Dockerfile, add README YAML for Gradio. (Hugging Face)
-
Trigger a clean rebuild
- Commit any small change and click Factory reboot (forces a build without stale layers; helpful after the registry incident). (Hugging Face Forums)
-
If a failure persists
- Compare your error with the recent
io.EOF / “failed to push … registry” threads; if symptoms match, it’s infra-side. Post timestamp + Space URL + latest commit SHA in the Spaces forum so staff can check logs. (Hugging Face Forums)
Sanity smoke test (to isolate infra vs. repo)
Create a temporary branch with the smallest working app:
# requirements.txt
gradio==4.25.0 # https://pypi.org/project/gradio/
pydantic>=2,<2.12 # https://github.com/gradio-app/gradio/issues/12118
# app.py
# Minimal check: should build & show a blank page titled "OK"
# Gradio docs: https://huggingface.co/docs/hub/en/spaces-sdks-gradio
import gradio as gr
with gr.Blocks(title="OK") as demo:
gr.Markdown("# OK")
if __name__ == "__main__":
demo.launch(server_name="0.0.0.0")
- Build succeeds → infra path is healthy; your previous failure was dependency/Python.
- Still fails with a short “cache miss …” summary and never serves → likely a registry/push path; do the Factory reboot once more and, if needed, post the details for staff eyes in the Spaces forum thread that tracks the same error. (Hugging Face Forums)
Why the “No application file” banner appears in Docker
That banner is a generic front-end placeholder when no runnable image is available yet. It does not literally mean app.py is missing when your SDK is docker. Alternatives and forum posts confirm that “No application file” can show for Docker Spaces even when the files exist, especially during build/push issues. (Hugging Face)
Escalation path
I cannot file an internal ticket for you. The supported route for Space-specific build regressions is to open a thread in the Hugging Face Forum → Spaces with: Space URL, failing build start time (UTC), current commit SHA, and a screenshot of the build page. Staff respond to ongoing registry incidents there and check backend logs. You can also reply in the active registry threads linked below. (Hugging Face Forums)
Supplemental materials (curated, short)
Hugging Face docs
- Docker Spaces guide (SDK selection, ports, permissions). Useful to confirm
sdk: docker and expected behavior. (Hugging Face)
- Gradio Spaces guide (managed runner via README YAML). Good when dropping Docker. (Hugging Face)
- Spaces configuration reference (all YAML keys like
app_file, python_version). (Hugging Face)
Recent incident threads (registry)
- “io.EOF / failed to push … registry” acknowledged by staff; fix announced; some Spaces need clean rebuilds. Use as canonical incident context. (Hugging Face Forums)
Gradio compatibility
- Gradio requires Pydantic v2 (
>=2,<2.12) currently; pin accordingly. Helpful to resolve resolver loops. (GitHub)
- Gradio requires Python ≥3.10 (PyPI page). Ensure base image or YAML reflects that. (PyPI)
Quick recap (intentionally redundant)
- The repo is structured correctly, but the banner is misleading in Docker mode; it appears whenever there’s no runnable image yet. (Hugging Face)
- Two issues overlapped: a transient registry push incident (“io.EOF”, often shown as a vague “cache miss” summary) and a deterministic dependency/Python mismatch in your repo. (Hugging Face Forums)
- Fix the versions (Pydantic v2, Python ≥3.10), then either keep Docker with the updated
Dockerfile or switch to the managed Gradio SDK. Factory reboot once to clear stale images. (GitHub)