docs/content/manuals/security/for-admins/hardened-desktop/settings-management/settings-reference.md

description	keywords	title	linkTitle
Reference for all settings and features that are configured with Settings Management	admin, controls, settings management, reference	Settings reference	Settings reference

This reference lists all Docker Desktop settings, including where they are configured, which operating systems they apply to, and whether they're available in the Docker Desktop GUI, the Docker Admin Console, or the admin-settings.json file. Settings are grouped to match the structure of the Docker Desktop interface.

Each setting includes:

• The display name used in Docker Desktop
• A table of values, default values, and required format
• A description and use cases
• OS compatibility
• Configuration methods: via Docker Desktop, the Admin Console, or the admin-settings.json file

Use this reference to compare how settings behave across different configuration methods and platforms.

General

Start Docker Desktop when you sign in to your computer

Default value	Accepted values	Format
false	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Start Docker Desktop automatically when booting machine.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Ensure Docker Desktop is always running after boot.
• Configure this setting with:
  • General settings in Docker Desktop GUI

Open Docker Dashboard when Docker Desktop starts

Default value	Accepted values	Format
false	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Open the Docker Dashboard automatically when Docker Desktop starts.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Quickly access containers, images, and volumes in the Docker Dashboard after starting Docker Desktop.
• Configure this setting with:
  • General settings in Docker Desktop GUI

Choose theme for Docker Desktop

Default value	Accepted values	Format
system	light, dark, system	Enum

• Description: Choose the Docker Desktop GUI theme.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Personalize Docker Desktop appearance.
• Configure this setting with:
  • General settings in Docker Desktop GUI

Configure shell completions

Default value	Accepted values	Format
integrated	integrated, system	String

• Description: If installed, automatically edits your shell configuration.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Customize developer experience with shell completions.
• Configure this setting with:
  • General settings in Docker Desktop GUI

Choose container terminal

Default value	Accepted values	Format
integrated	integrated, system	String

• Description: Select default terminal for launching Docker CLI from Docker Desktop.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Customize developer experience with preferred terminal.
• Configure this setting with:
  • General settings in Docker Desktop GUI

Enable Docker terminal

Default value	Accepted values	Format
false	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Enable access to the Docker Desktop integrated terminal. If the value is set to false, users can't use the Docker terminal to interact with the host machine and execute commands directly from Docker Desktop.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Allow or restrict developer access to the built-in terminal.
• Configure this setting with:
  • General setting in Docker Desktop GUI
  • Settings Management: desktopTerminalEnabled setting in the admin-settings.json file

Enable Docker Debug by default

Default value	Accepted values	Format
false	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Enable debug logging by default for Docker CLI commands.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Assist with debugging support issues.
• Configure this setting with:
  • General settings in Docker Desktop GUI

Include VM in Time Machine backup

Default value	Accepted values	Format
false	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Back up the Docker Desktop virtual machine.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="Mac only" >}}
• Use case: Manage persistence of application data.
• Configure this setting with:
  • General settings in Docker Desktop GUI

Use containerd for pulling and storing images

Default value	Accepted values	Format
false	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Use containerd native snapshotter instead of legacy snapshotters.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Improve image handling performance and compatibility.
• Configure this setting with:
  • General settings in Docker Desktop GUI

Choose Virtual Machine Manager

Docker VMM

Default value	Accepted values	Format
true	true, false	Boolean

Apple Virtualization framework

Default value	Accepted values	Format
true	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Use Apple Virtualization Framework to run Docker containers.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="Mac only" >}}
• Use case: Improve VM performance on Apple Silicon.
• Configure this setting with:
  • General settings in Docker Desktop GUI

Rosetta

Default value	Accepted values	Format
true	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Use Rosetta to emulate amd64 on Apple Silicon. If value is set to true, Docker Desktop turns on Rosetta to accelerate x86_64/amd64 binary emulation on Apple Silicon.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="Mac only" >}} 13+
• Use case: Run Intel-based containers on Apple Silicon hosts.

[!NOTE]

In hardened environments, disable and lock this setting so only ARM-native images are permitted.

• Configure this setting with:
  • General settings in Docker Desktop GUI
  • Settings Management:useVirtualizationFrameworkRosetta setting in the admin-settings.json file
  • Settings Management: Use Rosetta for x86_64/amd64 emulation on Apple Silicon setting in the Admin Console

[!NOTE]

Rosetta requires enabling Apple Virtualization framework.

QEMU

Default value	Accepted values	Format
true	true, false	Boolean

Choose file sharing implementation

VirtioFS

Default value	Accepted values	Format
true	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Use VirtioFS for fast, native file sharing between host and containers. If value is set to true, VirtioFS is set as the file sharing mechanism. If both VirtioFS and gRPC are set to true, VirtioFS takes precedence.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="Mac only" >}} 12.5+
• Use case: Improve volume mount performance and compatibility.

[!NOTE]

In hardened environments, enable and lock this setting for macOS 12.5 and later.

• Configure this setting with:
  • General settings in Docker Desktop GUI
  • Settings Management: useVirtualizationFrameworkVirtioFS setting in the admin-settings.json file
  • Settings Management: Use VirtioFS for file sharing setting in the Admin Console

gRPC FUSE

Default value	Accepted values	Format
true	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Enable gRPC FUSE for macOS file sharing. If value is set to true, gRPC Fuse is set as the file sharing mechanism.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="Mac only" >}}
• Use case: Improve performance and compatibility of file mounts.

[!NOTE]

In hardened environments, disable and lock this setting.

• Configure this setting with:
  • General settings in Docker Desktop GUI
  • Settings Management: useGrpcfuse setting in the admin-settings.json file
  • Settings Management: Use gRPC FUSE for file sharing setting in the Admin Console

osxfs

Default value	Accepted values	Format
false	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Enable the legacy osxfs file sharing driver for macOS. When set to true, Docker Desktop uses osxfs instead of VirtioFS or gRPC FUSE to mount host directories into containers.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="Mac only" >}}
• Use case: Use the original file sharing implementation when compatibility with older tooling or specific workflows is required.
• Configure this setting with:
  • General settings in Docker Desktop GUI

Send usage statistics

Default value	Accepted values	Format
true	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Controls whether Docker Desktop collects and sends local usage statistics and crash reports to Docker. This setting affects telemetry gathered from the Docker Desktop application itself. It does not affect server-side telemetry collected via Docker Hub or other backend services, such as login timestamps, pulls, or builds.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Enable analytics to help Docker improve the product based on usage data.

[!NOTE]

In hardened environments, disable and lock this setting. This allows you to control all your data flows and collect support logs via secure channels if needed.

• Configure this setting with:
  • General settings in Docker Desktop GUI
  • Settings Management: analyticsEnabled setting in the admin-settings.json file
  • Settings Management: Send usage statistics setting in the Admin Console

[!NOTE]

Organizations using the Insights Dashboard may need this setting enabled to ensure that developer activity is fully visible. If users opt out and the setting is not locked, their activity may be excluded from analytics views.

Use Enhanced Container Isolation

Default value	Accepted values	Format
false	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Enable Enhanced Container Isolation for secure container execution.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Prevent containers from modifying configuration or sensitive host areas.

[!NOTE]

In hardened environments, disable and lock this setting.

• Configure this setting with:
  • General settings in Docker Desktop GUI
  • Settings Management: enhancedContainerIsolation setting in the admin-settings.json file
  • Settings Management: Enable enhanced container isolation setting in the Admin Console

Show CLI hints

Default value	Accepted values	Format
true	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Display helpful CLI tips in the terminal when using Docker commands.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Help users discover and learn Docker CLI features through inline suggestions.
• Configure this setting with:
  • General settings in Docker Desktop GUI

Enable Scout image analysis

Default value	Accepted values	Format
true	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Enable Docker Scout to generate and display SBOM data for container images.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Turn on Docker Scout analysis features to view vulnerabilities, packages, and metadata associated with images.

[!NOTE]

In hardened environments, enable and lock this setting to ensure SBOMs are always built to satisfy compliance scans.

• Configure this setting with:
  • General settings in Docker Desktop GUI
  • Settings Management: sbomIndexing setting in the admin-settings.json file
  • Settings Management: SBOM indexing settings in the Admin Console

Enable background Scout SBOM indexing

Default value	Accepted values	Format
false	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Automatically index SBOM data for images in the background without requiring user interaction.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Keep image metadata up to date by allowing Docker to perform SBOM indexing during idle time or after image pull operations.

[!NOTE]

In hardened environments, enable and lock this setting.

• Configure this setting with:
  • General settings in Docker Desktop GUI

Automatically check configuration

Default value	Accepted values	Format
CurrentSettingsVersions	Integer	Integer

• Description: Regularly checks your configuration to ensure no unexpected changes have been made by another application
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Track versions for compatibility
• Configure this setting with:
  • General settings in Docker Desktop GUI
  • Settings Management: configurationFileVersion setting in the admin-settings.json file

Resources

CPU limit

Default value	Accepted values	Format
Number of logical CPU cores available on host	Integer	Integer

• Description: Number of CPUs assigned to the Docker Desktop virtual machine.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Resource allocation control.
• Configure this setting with:
  • Advanced Resources settings in Docker Desktop GUI

Memory limit

Default value	Accepted values	Format
Based on system resources	Integer	Integer

• Description: Amount of RAM (in MiB) assigned to the Docker virtual machine.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Control how much memory Docker can use on the host.
• Configure this setting with:
  • Advanced Resources settings in Docker Desktop GUI

Swap

Default value	Accepted values	Format
1024	Integer	Integer

• Description: Amount of swap space (in MiB) assigned to the Docker virtual machine
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Extend memory availability via swap
• Configure this setting with:
  • Advanced Resources settings in Docker Desktop GUI

Disk usage limit

Default value	Accepted values	Format
Default disk size of machine.	Integer	Integer

• Description: Maximum disk size (in MiB) allocated for Docker Desktop.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Constrain Docker's virtual disk size for storage management.
• Configure this setting with:
  • Advanced Resources settings in Docker Desktop GUI

Disk image location

Default value	Accepted values	Format
macOS: ~/Library/Containers/com.docker.docker/Data/vms/0 Windows: %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Docker\wsl\data	File path	String

• Description: Path where Docker Desktop stores virtual machine data.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Redirect Docker data to a custom location.
• Configure this setting with:
  • Advanced Resources settings in Docker Desktop GUI

Enable Resource Saver

Default value	Accepted values	Format
true	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Enable Docker Desktop to pause when idle.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Save system resources during periods of inactivity.
• Configure this setting with:
  • Advanced Resources settings in Docker Desktop GUI

File sharing directories

Default value	Accepted values	Format
Varies by OS	List of file paths as strings	Array list of strings

• Description: List of allowed directories shared between the host and containers. When a path is added, its subdirectories are allowed.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Restrict or define what file paths are available to containers.

[!NOTE]

In hardened environments, lock to an explicit whitelist and disable end-user edits.

• Configure this setting with:
  • File sharing Resources settings in Docker Desktop GUI
  • Settings Management: filesharingAllowedDirectories setting in the admin-settings.json file
  • Settings Management: Allowed file sharing directories setting in the Admin Console

Proxy exclude

Default value	Accepted values	Format
""	List of addresses	String

• Description: Configure addresses that containers should bypass from proxy settings.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Fine-tune proxy exceptions for container networking.

[!NOTE]

In hardened environments, disable and lock this setting.

• Configure this setting with:
  • Proxies Resources settings in Docker Desktop GUI
  • Settings Management: proxy setting with manual and exclude modes in the admin-settings.json file

Docker subnet

Default value	Accepted values	Format
192.168.65.0/24	IP address	String

• Description: Overrides the network range used for vpnkit DHCP/DNS for *.docker.internal.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="Mac only" >}}
• Use case: Customize the subnet used for Docker container networking.
• Configure this setting with:
  • Settings Management: vpnkitCIDR setting in the admin-settings.json file
  • Settings Management: VPN Kit CIDR setting in the Admin Console

Use kernel networking for UDP

Default value	Accepted values	Format
false	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Use the host’s kernel network stack for UDP traffic instead of Docker’s virtual network driver. This enables faster and more direct UDP communication, but may bypass some container isolation features.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Improve performance or compatibility for workloads that rely heavily on UDP traffic, such as real-time media, DNS, or game servers.
• Configure this setting with:
  • Network Resources settings in Docker Desktop GUI

Enable host networking

Default value	Accepted values	Format
false	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Enable experimental host networking support.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Allow containers to use the host network stack.
• Configure this setting with:
  • Network Resources settings in Docker Desktop GUI

Networking mode

Default value	Accepted values	Format
dual-stack	ipv4only, ipv6only	String

• Description: Set the networking mode.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="Windows and Mac" >}}
• Use case: Choose the default IP protocol used when Docker creates new networks.
• Configure this setting with:
  • Network Resources settings in Docker Desktop GUI
  • Settings Management: defaultNetworkingMode setting in the admin-settings.json file

For more information, see Networking.

Inhibit DNS resolution for IPv4/IPv6

Default value	Accepted values	Format
auto	ipv4, ipv6, none	String

• Description: Filters unsupported DNS record types.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="Windows and Mac" >}}
• Use case: Control how Docker filters DNS records returned to containers, improving reliability in environments where only IPv4 or IPv6 is supported.
• Configure this setting with:
  • Network Resources settings in Docker Desktop GUI
  • Settings Management: dnsInhibition setting in the admin-settings.json file

For more information, see Networking.

Enable WSL engine

Default value	Accepted values	Format
true	true, false	Boolean

• Description: If the value is set to true, Docker Desktop uses the WSL2 based engine. This overrides anything that may have been set at installation using the --backend=<backend name> flag.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="Windows only" >}} + WSL
• Use case: Enable Linux containers via WSL 2 backend.

[!NOTE]

In hardened environments, enable and lock this setting.

• Configure this setting with:
  • WSL Integration Resources settings in Docker Desktop GUI
  • Settings Management: wslEngineEnabled setting in the admin-settings.json file
  • Settings Management: Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) Engine setting in the Admin Console

Docker Engine

The Docker Engine settings let you configure low-level daemon settings through a raw JSON object. These settings are passed directly to the dockerd process that powers container management in Docker Desktop.

Key	Example	Description	Accepted values / Format	Default
debug	true	Enable verbose logging in the Docker daemon	Boolean	false
experimental	true	Enable experimental Docker CLI and daemon features	Boolean	false
insecure-registries	["myregistry.local:5000"]	Allow pulling from HTTP registries without TLS	Array of strings (host:port)	[]
registry-mirrors	["https://mirror.gcr.io"]	Define alternative registry endpoints	Array of URLs	[]

• Description: Customize the behavior of the Docker daemon using a structured JSON config passed directly to dockerd.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Fine-tune registry access, enable debug mode, or opt into experimental features.
• Configure this setting with:
  • Docker Engine settings in Docker Desktop GUI

[!NOTE]

Values for this setting are passed as-is to the Docker daemon. Invalid or unsupported fields may prevent Docker Desktop from starting.

Builders

Builders settings lets you manage Buildx builder instances for advanced image-building scenarios, including multi-platform builds and custom backends.

Key	Example	Description	Accepted values / Format	Default
name	"my-builder"	Name of the builder instance	String	—
driver	"docker-container"	Backend used by the builder (docker, docker-container, remote, etc.)	String	docker
platforms	["linux/amd64", "linux/arm64"]	Target platforms supported by the builder	Array of platform strings	Host arch

• Description: Configure custom Buildx builders for Docker Desktop, including driver type and supported platforms.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Set up advanced build configurations like cross-platform images or remote builders.
• Configure this setting with:
  • Builders settings in Docker Desktop GUI

[!NOTE]

Builder definitions are structured as an array of objects, each describing a builder instance. Conflicting or unsupported configurations may cause build errors.

Kubernetes

Enable Kubernetes

Default value	Accepted values	Format
false	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Enable the integrated Kubernetes cluster in Docker Desktop.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Enable or disable Kubernetes support for developers.

[!NOTE]

In hardened environments, disable and lock this setting.

• Configure this setting with:
  • Kubernetes settings in Docker Desktop GUI
  • Settings Management: kubernetes setting in the admin-settings.json file
  • Settings Management: Allow Kubernetes setting in the Admin Console

Choose cluster provisioning method

Default value	Accepted values	Format
kubeadm	kubeadm, kind	String

• Description: Set the Kubernetes node mode (single-node or multi-node).
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Control the topology of the integrated Kubernetes cluster.
• Configure this setting with:
  • Kubernetes settings in Docker Desktop GUI

Kubernetes node count (kind provisioning)

Default value	Accepted values	Format
1	Integer	Integer

• Description: Number of nodes to create in a multi-node Kubernetes cluster.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Scale the number of Kubernetes nodes for development or testing.
• Configure this setting with:
  • Kubernetes settings in Docker Desktop GUI

Kubernetes node version (kind provisioning)

Default value	Accepted values	Format
1.31.1	Semantic version (e.g., 1.29.1)	String

• Description: Version of Kubernetes used for cluster node creation.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Pin a specific Kubernetes version for consistency or compatibility.
• Configure this setting with:
  • Kubernetes settings in Docker Desktop GUI

Show system containers

Default value	Accepted values	Format
false	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Show Kubernetes system containers in the Docker Dashboard container list
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Allow developers to view kube-system containers for debugging

[!NOTE]

In hardened environments, disable and lock this setting.

• Configure this setting with:
  • Kubernetes settings in Docker Desktop GUI

Software updates

Automatically check for updates

Default value	Accepted values	Format
false	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Disable automatic update polling for Docker Desktop. If the value is set to true, checking for updates and notifications about Docker Desktop updates are disabled.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Freeze the current version in enterprise environments.

[!NOTE]

In hardened environments, enable this setting and lock. This guarantees that only internally vetted versions are installed.

• Configure this setting with:
  • Settings Management: disableUpdate setting in the admin-settings.json file
  • Settings Management: Disable update setting in the Admin Console

Always download updates

Default value	Accepted values	Format
false	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Automatically download Docker Desktop updates when available.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Manage auto update behavior.
• Configure this setting with:
  • Software updates settings in Docker Desktop GUI
  • Settings Management: Disable updates setting in the Admin Console

Extensions

Enable Docker extensions

Default value	Accepted values	Format
true	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Enable or disable Docker Extensions.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Control access to the Extensions Marketplace and installed extensions.

[!NOTE]

In hardened environments, disable and lock this setting. This prevents third-party or unvetted plugins from being installed.

• Configure this setting with:
  • Extensions settings in Docker Desktop GUI
  • Settings Management: extensionsEnabled setting in the admin-settings.json file
  • Settings Management: Allow Extensions setting in the Admin Console

Allow only extensions distributed through the Docker Marketplace

Default value	Accepted values	Format
true	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Restrict Docker Desktop to only run Marketplace extensions.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Prevent running third-party or local extensions.
• Configure this setting with:
  • Extensions settings in Docker Desktop GUI

Show Docker Extensions system containers

Default value	Accepted values	Format
false	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Show system containers used by Docker Extensions in the container list
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Help developers troubleshoot or view extension system containers
• Configure this setting with:
  • Extensions settings in Docker Desktop GUI

Features in development

Enable Docker AI

Default value	Accepted values	Format
false	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Enable Docker AI features in the Docker Desktop experience.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Enable or disable AI features like "Ask Gordon".
• Configure this setting with:
  • Features in development settings in Docker Desktop GUI
  • Settings Management: enableDockerAI setting in the admin-settings.json file

Enable Docker Model Runner

Default value	Accepted values	Format
true	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Enable Docker Model Runner features in Docker Desktop.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Enable or disable Docker Model Runner features.
• Configure this setting with:
  • Features in development settings in Docker Desktop GUI

Enable host-side TCP support

Default value	Accepted values	Format
false	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Enable Docker Model Runner features in Docker Desktop.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Enable or disable Docker Model Runner features.
• Configure this setting with:
  • Features in development settings in Docker Desktop GUI

[!NOTE]

This setting requires Docker Model Runner setting to be enabled first.

Notifications

Status updates on tasks and processes

Default value	Accepted values	Format
true	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Display general informational messages inside Docker Desktop
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Customize in-app communication visibility
• Configure this setting with:
  • Notifications settings in Docker Desktop GUI

Recommendations from Docker

Default value	Accepted values	Format
true	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Display promotional announcements and banners inside Docker Desktop
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Control exposure to Docker news and feature promotion
• Configure this setting with:
  • Notifications settings in Docker Desktop GUI

Docker announcements

Default value	Accepted values	Format
true	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Display general announcements inside Docker Desktop.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Enable or suppress Docker-wide announcements in the GUI.
• Configure this setting with:
  • Notifications settings in Docker Desktop GUI

Docker surveys

Default value	Accepted values	Format
true	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Display notifications inviting users to participate in surveys
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Enable or disable in-product survey prompts
• Configure this setting with:
  • Notifications settings in Docker Desktop GUI

Docker Scout Notification pop-ups

Default value	Accepted values	Format
true	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Enable Docker Scout popups inside Docker Desktop.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Show or hide vulnerability scan notifications
• Configure this setting with:
  • Notifications settings in Docker Desktop GUI

Docker Scout OS notifications

Default value	Accepted values	Format
false	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Enable Docker Scout notifications through the operating system.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Push Scout updates via system notification center
• Configure this setting with:
  • Notifications settings in Docker Desktop GUI

Advanced

Configure installation of Docker CLI

Default value	Accepted values	Format
system	File path	String

• Description: Install location for Docker CLI binaries.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Customize CLI install location for compliance or tooling.
• Configure this setting with:
  • Advanced settings in Docker Desktop GUI

Allow the default Docker socket to be used

Default value	Accepted values	Format
true	true, false	Boolean

• Description: By default, enhanced container isolation blocks bind-mounting the Docker Engine socket into containers (e.g., docker run -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock ...). This lets you relax this in a controlled way. See ECI Configuration for more info.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Allow containers to access the Docker socket for scenarios like Docker-in-Docker or containerized CI agents.
• Configure this setting with:
  • Advanced settings in Docker Desktop GUI
  • Settings Management: dockerSocketMount setting in the admin-settings.json file

Allow privileged port mapping

Default value	Accepted values	Format
true	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Starts the privileged helper process which binds privileged ports that are between 1 and 1024
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="Mac only" >}}
• Use case: Enforce elevated privileges for networking support
• Configure this setting with:
  • Advanced settings in Docker Desktop GUI

Settings not available in the Docker Desktop GUI

The following settings aren’t shown in the Docker Desktop GUI. You can only configure them using Settings Management with the Admin Console or the admin-settings.json file.

Block docker load

Default value	Accepted values	Format
false	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Prevent users from loading local Docker images using the docker load command.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Enforce image provenance by restricting local image imports.

[!NOTE]

In hardened environments, enable and lock this setting. This forces all images to come from your secure, scanned registry.

• Configure this setting with:
  • Settings Management: blockDockerLoad setting in the admin-settings.json file

Expose Docker API on TCP 2375

Default value	Accepted values	Format
false	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Exposes the Docker API over an unauthenticated TCP socket on port 2375. Only recommended for isolated and protected environments.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="Windows only" >}}
• Use case: Required for legacy integrations or environments without named pipe support.

[!NOTE]

In hardened environments, disable and lock this setting. This ensures the Docker API is only reachable via the secure internal socket.

• Configure this setting with:
  • Settings Management: exposeDockerAPIOnTCP2375 in the admin-settings.json file

Air-gapped container proxy

Default value	Accepted values	Format
See example	Object	JSON object

• Description: Configure a manual HTTP/HTTPS proxy for containers. Useful in air-gapped environments where containers need restricted access.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Redirect or block container networking to comply with offline or secured network environments.
• Configure this setting with:
  • Settings Management: containersProxy setting in the admin-settings.json file

Example

"containersProxy": {
  "locked": true,
  "mode": "manual",
  "http": "",
  "https": "",
  "exclude": [],
  "pac": "",
  "transparentPorts": ""
}

Docker socket access control (ECI exceptions)

Default value	Accepted values	Format
-	Object	JSON object

• Description: Allow specific images or commands to use the Docker socket when Enhanced Container Isolation is enabled.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Support tools like Testcontainers or LocalStack that need Docker socket access while maintaining secure defaults.
• Configure this setting with:
  • Settings Management: enhancedContainerIsolation > dockerSocketMount in the admin-settings.json file

Example

"enhancedContainerIsolation": {
  "locked": true,
  "value": true,
  "dockerSocketMount": {
    "imageList": {
      "images": [
        "docker.io/localstack/localstack:*",
        "docker.io/testcontainers/ryuk:*"
      ]
    },
    "commandList": {
      "type": "deny",
      "commands": ["push"]
    }
  }
}

Allow beta features

Default value	Accepted values	Format
false	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Enable access to beta features in Docker Desktop.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Give developers early access to features that are in public beta.

[!NOTE]

In hardened environments, disable and lock this setting.

• Configure this setting with:
  • Settings Management: allowBetaFeatures setting in the admin-settings.json file

Docker daemon options (Linux or Windows)

Default value	Accepted values	Format
{}	JSON object	Stringified JSON

• Description: Override the Docker daemon configuration used in Linux or Windows containers.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Configure low-level Docker daemon options (e.g., logging, storage drivers) without editing the local config files.

[!NOTE]

In hardened environments, provide a vetted JSON config and lock it so no overrides are possible.

• Configure this setting with:
  • Settings Management: linuxVM.dockerDaemonOptions or windowsContainers.dockerDaemonOptions in the admin-settings.json file

VPNKit CIDR

Default value	Accepted values	Format
192.168.65.0/24	CIDR notation	String

• Description: Set the subnet used for internal VPNKit DHCP/DNS services.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="Mac only" >}}
• Use case: Prevent IP conflicts in environments with overlapping subnets.

[!NOTE]

In hardened environments, lock to an approved, non-conflicting CIDR.

• Configure this setting with:
  • Settings Management: vpnkitCIDR setting in the admin-settings.json file
  • Settings Management: VPN Kit CIDR setting in the Admin Console

Enable Kerberos and NTLM authentication

Default value	Accepted values	Format
false	true, false	Boolean

• Description: Enables Kerberos and NTLM proxy authentication for enterprise environments.
• OS: {{< badge color=blue text="All" >}}
• Use case: Allow users to authenticate with enterprise proxy servers that require Kerberos or NTLM.
• Configure this setting with:
  • Settings Management: proxy.enableKerberosNtlm in the admin-settings.json file