Install Docker on Linux, macOS and Windows

Which option to pick

There are two products. Docker Engine is the daemon and command-line client; it runs natively on Linux only and is free and open source (Apache 2.0). Docker Desktop bundles Engine inside a lightweight virtual machine together with a graphical dashboard, Compose, Kubernetes and automatic updates; it is the way to get Docker on macOS and Windows, and it also exists for Linux desktops. Docker Desktop is free for personal use, education and small businesses, but companies above Docker’s size threshold need a paid subscription, so on a work laptop check with your IT department. On Linux servers and for most Linux developers, Engine is the normal choice.

Step: Linux (Docker Engine)

The maintained way is Docker’s own package repository for your distribution; the entry on installing Docker Engine on Ubuntu and Debian has the full steps. For a quick setup on a test machine Docker also provides a convenience script that detects the distribution and sets up the repository for you:

curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh
sudo sh get-docker.sh
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
newgrp docker

Read a script before piping it to sh with root rights; the download step above lets you do that. Docker itself recommends the repository method for production systems. The usermod line lets your user run docker without sudo; it takes effect in new login sessions, and newgrp docker applies it to the current shell. Careful: members of the docker group effectively have root access on the machine.

Step: macOS (Docker Desktop)

brew install --cask docker

Or download Docker.dmg from the Docker Desktop page, choosing the Apple Silicon or Intel build, and drag it to Applications. Start Docker Desktop from Applications once; it asks for permission to install its helper and then shows a whale icon in the menu bar. The docker command only works while the application is running. If you prefer a lighter, command-line-only setup, Colima and OrbStack are popular alternatives that run Docker Engine in a VM without Docker Desktop.

Step: Windows (Docker Desktop)

Docker Desktop on Windows uses WSL 2 (Windows Subsystem for Linux) as its backend. Enable it first in an administrator PowerShell, then reboot if asked:

wsl --install
wsl --update

Then install Docker Desktop:

winget install Docker.DockerDesktop

Or run the installer from the Docker Desktop page. Keep Use WSL 2 instead of Hyper-V selected. Log out and back in when the installer asks, start Docker Desktop from the Start menu, and wait until the status in the bottom-left corner says the engine is running. In Settings, Resources, WSL integration, enable your Linux distributions so docker works inside them as well as in PowerShell.

Check it works

docker version
docker run hello-world
docker compose version

docker version must show both a Client and a Server section; if the server part is missing, the daemon is not running or not reachable. hello-world downloads a tiny image and prints a confirmation message.

Common problems

• Cannot connect to the Docker daemon ... Is the docker daemon running?: on macOS and Windows start Docker Desktop; on Linux run sudo systemctl start docker and sudo systemctl enable docker.
• permission denied while trying to connect to the Docker daemon socket on Linux: your user is not in the docker group yet, or you have not logged in again since adding it.
• Windows: WSL 2 installation is incomplete or Docker Desktop will not start: run wsl --update and make sure virtualization is enabled in the BIOS/UEFI.
• Windows: docker works in PowerShell but not inside Ubuntu (WSL): enable the distribution under WSL integration in Docker Desktop settings instead of installing Docker Engine inside WSL.
• macOS: an image built on an Apple Silicon Mac does not run on an amd64 server. Build with docker build --platform linux/amd64 or a multi-platform build.

Official documentation

• Install Docker Engine
• Install Docker Desktop on Mac
• Install Docker Desktop on Windows