Docker Installation

Install Docker Desktop on Windows
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Docker Desktop for Windows is the Community version of Docker for Microsoft Windows. You can download Docker Desktop for Windows from Docker Hub.

This page contains information on installing Docker Desktop on Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise, and Education. If you are looking for information about installing Docker Desktop on Windows 10 Home, see Install Docker Desktop on Windows Home.

Download from Docker Hub

By downloading Docker Desktop, you agree to the terms of the Docker Software End User License Agreement and the Docker Data Processing Agreement.

What to know before you install
System Requirements
Windows 10 64-bit: Pro, Enterprise, or Education (Build 16299 or later).

For Windows 10 Home, see Install Docker Desktop on Windows Home.

Hyper-V and Containers Windows features must be enabled.
The following hardware prerequisites are required to successfully run Client Hyper-V on Windows 10:

64 bit processor with Second Level Address Translation
4GB system RAM
BIOS-level hardware virtualization support must be enabled in the BIOS settings. For more information, see Virtualization.
Note: Docker supports Docker Desktop on Windows based on Microsoft’s support lifecycle for Windows 10 operating system. For more information, see the Windows lifecycle fact sheet.

What’s included in the installer
The Docker Desktop installation includes Docker Engine, Docker CLI client, Docker Compose, Notary, Kubernetes, and Credential Helper.

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.

Nested virtualization scenarios, such as running Docker Desktop on a VMWare or Parallels instance might work, but there are no guarantees. For more information, see Running Docker Desktop in nested virtualization scenarios.

About Windows containers
Looking for information on using Windows containers?

Switch between Windows and Linux containers describes how you can toggle between Linux and Windows containers in Docker Desktop and points you to the tutorial mentioned above.
Getting Started with Windows Containers provides a tutorial on how to set up and run Windows containers on Windows 10, Windows Server 2016 and Windows Server 2019. It shows you how to use a MusicStore application with Windows containers.
Docker Container Platform for Windows articles and blog posts on the Docker website.
Install Docker Desktop on Windows
Double-click Docker Desktop Installer.exe to run the installer.

If you haven’t already downloaded the installer you can get it from Docker Hub. It typically downloads to your Downloads folder, or you can run it from the recent downloads bar at the bottom of your web browser.

When prompted, ensure the Enable Hyper-V Windows Features option is selected on the Configuration page.

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

When the installation is successful, click Close to complete the installation process.