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| description | keywords | title |
|---|---|---|
| Frequently asked questions | desktop, windows, faqs | Frequently asked questions for Windows |
Can I use VirtualBox alongside Docker Desktop?
Yes, you can run VirtualBox along with Docker Desktop if you have enabled the Windows Hypervisor Platform{: target="blank" rel="noopener" class=""} feature on your machine.
Why is Windows 10 or Windows 11 required?
Docker Desktop uses the Windows Hyper-V features. While older Windows versions have Hyper-V, their Hyper-V implementations lack features critical for Docker Desktop to work.
Can I install Docker Desktop on Windows 10 Home?
If you are running Windows 10 Home (starting with version 1903), you can install Docker Desktop for Windows{: target="blank" rel="noopener" class=""} with the WSL 2 backend.
Can I run Docker Desktop on Windows Server?
No, running Docker Desktop on Windows Server is not supported.
How do I run Windows containers on Windows Server?
You can install a native Windows binary which allows you to develop and run Windows containers without Docker Desktop. For more information, see the tutorial about running Windows containers on Windows Server in Getting Started with Windows Containers{: target="blank" rel="noopener" class=""}.
Why do I see the Docker Desktop Access Denied error message when I try to start Docker Desktop?
Docker Desktop displays the Docker Desktop - Access Denied error if a Windows user is not part of the docker-users group.
If your admin account is different to your user account, add the docker-users group. Run Computer Management as an administrator and navigate to Local Users and Groups* > Groups > docker-users.
Right-click to add the user to the group. Log out and log back in for the changes to take effect.
Why does Docker Desktop fail to start when anti-virus software is installed?
Some anti-virus software may be incompatible with Hyper-V and Windows 10 builds which impact Docker Desktop. For more information, see Docker Desktop fails to start when anti-virus software is installed.
Can I change permissions on shared volumes for container-specific deployment requirements?
Docker Desktop does not enable you to control (chmod)
the Unix-style permissions on shared volumes for
deployed containers, but rather sets permissions to a default value of
0777{: target="blank" rel="noopener" class=""}
(read, write, execute permissions for user and for
group) which is not configurable.
For workarounds and to learn more, see Permissions errors on data directories for shared volumes.
How do symlinks work on Windows?
Docker Desktop supports two types of symlinks: Windows native symlinks and symlinks created inside a container.
The Windows native symlinks are visible within the containers as symlinks, whereas symlinks created inside a container are represented as mfsymlinks{:target="blank" rel="noopener" class=""}. These are regular Windows files with a special metadata. Therefore the symlinks created inside a container appear as symlinks inside the container, but not on the host.
File sharing with Kubernetes and WSL 2
Docker Desktop mounts the Windows host filesystem under /run/desktop inside the container running Kubernetes.
See the Stack Overflow post{:target="blank" rel="noopener" class=""} for an example of how to configure a Kubernetes Persistent Volume to represent directories on the host.