5/31/24, 4:36 PM Install Docker Desktop on Windows | Docker Docs

Manuals / Docker Desktop / Install / Windows

Install Docker Desktop on Windows

Table of contents

System requirements

Install Docker Desktop on Windows

Start Docker Desktop

Where to go next

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Docker Desktop terms

Commercial use of Docker Desktop in larger enterprises (more than 250 employees OR more
than $10 million USD in annual revenue) requires a paid subscription .

This page contains the download URL, information about system requirements, and instructions on
how to install Docker Desktop for Windows.

Docker Desktop for Windows

For checksums, see Release notes

System requirements
WSL 2 backend Hyper-V backend and Windows containers

WSL version 1.1.3.0 or later.

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Windows 11 64-bit: Home or Pro version 21H2 or higher, or Enterprise or Education version
21H2 or higher.

Windows 10 64-bit:

We recommend Home or Pro 22H2 (build 19045) or higher, or Enterprise or Education

22H2 (build 19045) or higher.

Minimum required is Home or Pro 21H2 (build 19044) or higher, or Enterprise or Education
21H2 (build 19044) or higher.

Turn on the WSL 2 feature on Windows. For detailed instructions, refer to the Microsoft
documentation .

The following hardware prerequisites are required to successfully run WSL 2 on Windows 10 or
Windows 11:

64-bit processor with Second Level Address Translation (SLAT)

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4GB system RAM

Enable hardware virtualization in BIOS. For more information, see Virtualization.

For more information on setting up WSL 2 with Docker Desktop, see WSL.

Important

To run Windows containers, you need Windows 10 or Windows 11 Professional or Enterprise

edition. Windows Home or Education editions only allow you to run Linux containers.

Note

Docker only supports Docker Desktop on Windows for those versions of Windows that are
still within Microsoft’s servicing timeline . Docker Desktop is not supported on server
versions of Windows, such as Windows Server 2019 or Windows Server 2022. For more
information on how to run containers on Windows Server, see Microsoft's official
documentation .

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Should I use Hyper-V or WSL?

Docker Desktop's functionality remains consistent on both WSL and Hyper-V, without a
preference for either architecture. Hyper-V and WSL have their own advantages and
disadvantages, depending on your specific set up and your planned use case.

Containers and images created with Docker Desktop are shared between all user accounts on
machines where it is installed. This is because all Windows accounts use the same VM to build and
run containers. Note that it is not possible to share containers and images between user accounts
when using the Docker Desktop WSL 2 backend.

Running Docker Desktop inside a VMware ESXi or Azure VM is supported for Docker Business
customers. It requires enabling nested virtualization on the hypervisor first. For more information,
see Running Docker Desktop in a VM or VDI environment.

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How do I switch between Windows and Linux containers?

Install Docker Desktop on Windows

Install interactively Install from the command line

1. Download the installer using the download button at the top of the page, or from the release
notes.

2. Double-click Docker Desktop Installer.exe to run the installer. By default, Docker Desktop
is installed at C:\Program Files\Docker\Docker .

3. When prompted, ensure the Use WSL 2 instead of Hyper-V option on the Configuration page is
selected or not depending on your choice of backend.
If your system only supports one of the two options, you will not be able to select which backend
to use.

4. Follow the instructions on the installation wizard to authorize the installer and proceed with the
install.

5. When the installation is successful, select Close to complete the installation process.

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If your admin account is different to your user account, you must add the user to the docker-users
group:

1. Run Computer Management as an administrator.

2. Navigate to Local Users and Groups > Groups > docker-users.

3. Right-click to add the user to the group.

4. Sign out and sign back in for the changes to take effect.

Start Docker Desktop

Docker Desktop does not start automatically after installation. To start Docker Desktop:

1. Search for Docker, and select Docker Desktop in the search results.

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2. The Docker menu ( ) displays the Docker Subscription Service Agreement.

Here’s a summary of the key points:

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Docker Desktop is free for small businesses (fewer than 250 employees AND less than $10
million in annual revenue), personal use, education, and non-commercial open source
projects.

Otherwise, it requires a paid subscription for professional use.

Paid subscriptions are also required for government entities.

The Docker Pro, Team, and Business subscriptions include commercial use of Docker
Desktop.

3. Select Accept to continue. Docker Desktop starts after you accept the terms.

Note that Docker Desktop won't run if you do not agree to the terms. You can choose to accept
the terms at a later date by opening Docker Desktop.

For more information, see Docker Desktop Subscription Service Agreement . We recommend
that you also read the FAQs .

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Where to go next
Explore Docker's core subscriptions to see what Docker can offer you.

Get started with Docker.

Explore Docker Desktop and all its features.

Troubleshooting describes common problems, workarounds, and how to get support.

FAQs provide answers to frequently asked questions.

Release notes lists component updates, new features, and improvements associated with
Docker Desktop releases.

Back up and restore data provides instructions on backing up and restoring data related to
Docker.

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