docs/ee/desktop/admin/configure/windows-admin.md

title	description	keywords
Configure Docker Desktop Enterprise on Windows	Learn about Docker Desktop Enterprise configuration	Docker Admin, Windows, Docker Desktop, Enterprise

This page contains information on how system administrators can configure Docker Desktop Enterprise (DDE) settings, specify and lock configuration parameters to create a standardized development environment on Windows operating systems.

Environment configuration (administrators only)

The administrator configuration file allows you to customize and standardize your Docker Desktop environment across the organization.

When you install Docker Desktop Enterprise, a configuration file with default values is installed at the following location. Do not change the location of the admin-settings.json file.

\%ProgramData%\DockerDesktop\admin-settings.json

which defaults to:

C:\ProgramData\DockerDesktop\admin-settings.json

You must have administrator access privileges to edit admin-settings.json.

Syntax for admin-settings.json

1. configurationFileVersion: This must be the first parameter listed in admin-settings.json. It specifies the version of the configuration file format and must not be changed.

2. A nested list of configuration parameters, each of which contains a minimum of the following two settings:

• locked: If set to true, users without elevated access privileges are not able to edit this setting from the UI or by directly editing the settings.json file (the settings.json file stores the user's preferences). If set to false, users without elevated access privileges can change this setting from the UI or by directly editing settings.json. If this setting is omitted, the default value is `false'.

• value: Specifies the value of the parameter. Docker Desktop Enterprise uses the value when first started and after a reset to factory defaults. If this setting is omitted, a default value that is built into the application is used.

Parameters and settings

The following admin-settings.json code and table provide the required syntax and descriptions for parameters and values:

{
  "configurationFileVersion": 1,
  "engine": {
    "locked": false,
    "value": "linux"
  },
  "analyticsEnabled": {
    "locked": false,
    "value": false
    },
  "exposeDockerAPIOnTCP2375": {
    "locked": false,
    "value": false
  },
  "dockerCliOptions": {
    "stackOrchestrator": {
      "locked": false,
      "value": "swarm"
    }
  },
  "proxy": {
    "locked": false,
    "value": {
      "http": "http://proxy.docker.com:8080",
      "https": "https://proxy.docker.com:8080",
      "exclude": "docker.com,github.com"
    }
  },

  "linuxVM": {
    "cpus": {
      "locked": false,
      "value": 2
    },
    "memoryMiB": {
      "locked": false,
      "value": 2048
    },
    "swapMiB": {
      "locked": false,
      "value": 1024
    },
    "dataFolder": {
      "locked": false,
      "value": null
    },
    "diskSizeMiB": {
      "locked": false,
      "value": 65536
    },
    "hypervCIDR": {
      "locked": false,
      "value": "10.0.75.0/28"
    },
    "vpnkitCIDR": {
	  "locked": false,
	  "value": "192.168.65.0/28"
	},
    "useDnsForwarder": {
      "locked": false,
      "value": true
    },
    "dns": {
      "locked": false,
      "value": "8.8.8.8"
    },
    "dockerDaemonOptions": {
      "experimental": {
         "locked": false,
         "value": true
      }
    }
  },

  "windows": {
    "dockerDaemonOptions": {
       "experimental": {
          "locked": false,
          "value": true
       }
    }
  },
  "kubernetes": {
    "enabled": {
      "locked": false,
      "value": false
    },
    "showSystemContainers": {
      "locked": false,
      "value": false
    },
    "podNetworkCIDR": {
      "locked": false,
      "value": null
    },
    "serviceCIDR": {
      "locked": false,
      "value": null
    }
  },

  "sharedDrives": {
    "locked": true,
    "value": [ ]
  },
  "sharedFolders": ["%USERPROFILE%"]
}

Parameter values and descriptions for environment configuration on Windows:

Parameter	Description
configurationFileVersion	Specifies the version of the configuration file format.
engine	Specifies the default Docker engine to be used. linux specifies the Linux engine. windows specifies the Windows engine.
analyticsEnabled	If value is true, allow Docker Desktop Enterprise to sends diagnostics, crash reports, and usage data. This information helps Docker improve and troubleshoot the application.
exposeDockerAPIOnTCP2375	Exposes Docker API on a specified port. In this example, setting 'locked' to true exposes the Docker API on port 2375. Warning: This is unauthenticated and should only be enabled if protected by suitable firewall rules.
dockerCliOptions	Specifies key-value pairs in the user's %HOME%\.docker\config.json file. In the sample code provided, the orchestration for docker stack commands is set to swarm rather than kubernetes.
proxy	The http setting specifies the HTTP proxy setting. The https setting specifies the HTTPS proxy setting. The exclude setting specifies a comma-separated list of hosts and domains to bypass the proxy. Warning: This parameter should be locked after being set: locked: "true".
linuxVM	Parameters and settings related to the Linux VM - grouped together in this example for convenience.
cpus	Specifies the default number of virtual CPUs for the VM. If the physical machine has only 1 core, the default value is set to 1.
memoryMiB	Specifies the amount of memory in MiB (1 MiB = 1048576 bytes) allocated for the VM.
swapMiB	Specifies the amount of memory in MiB (1 MiB = 1048576 bytes) allocated for the swap file.
dataFolder	Specifies the root folder where Docker Desktop should put VM disk files.
diskSizeMiB	Specifies the amount of disk storage in MiB (1 MiB = 1048576 bytes) allocated for images and containers.
hypervCIDR	Specifies the subnet used for Hyper-V networking. The chosen subnet must not conflict with other resources on your network.
vpnkitCIDR	Specifies the subnet used for VPNKit networking and drive sharing. The chosen subnet must not conflict with other resources on your network.
useDnsForwarder	If value is set to true, this automatically determines the upstream DNS servers based on the host's network adapters.
dns	If value for useDnsForwarder is set to false, the Linux VM uses the server information in this value setting for DNS resolution.
dockerDaemonOptions	Overrides the options in the Linux daemon config file. For more information, see Docker engine reference.
(End of linuxVM section.)
windows	Parameters and settings related to the Windows daemon-related options - grouped together in this example for convenience.
dockerDaemonOptions	Overrides the options in the Windows daemon config file. For more information, see Docker engine reference.
(End of windows section.)
kubernetes	Parameters and settings related to kubernetes options - grouped together here for convenience.
enabled	If locked is set to true, the Kubernetes cluster starts when Docker Desktop Enterprise is started.
showSystemContainers	If true, displays Kubernetes internal containers when running docker commands such as docker ps.
podNetworkCIDR	This is currently unimplemented. locked must be set to true.
serviceCIDR	This is currently unimplemented. locked must be set to true.
(End of kubernetes section.)
sharedDrives	If sharedDrives is set to true, this locks the drives users are allowed to share ( ["C", "D"] ), but does not actually share drives by default (sharing a drive prompts the user for a password). value is a whitelist of drives that can be shared. Warning: Note that when updating this value, if you remove drives that have been shared, you must also net share /delete those drives.
sharedFolders	If specified, restrict the folders the user is allowed to share with Windows containers.