Docker Desktop: Notifications and Advanced Settings

These features are intended for testing and feedback only as they may change between releases without warning or remove them entirely from a future release. Beta features must not be used in production environments. Docker doesn't offer support for beta features. You can also sign up to the [Developer Preview program](https://www.docker.com/community/get-involved/developer-preview/) from the **Beta features** tab. For a list of current experimental features in the Docker CLI, see [Docker CLI Experimental features](https://github.com/docker/cli/blob/master/experimental/README.md). > [!IMPORTANT] > > For Docker Desktop versions 4.41 and earlier, there is also an **Experimental features** tab under the **Features in development** page. > > As with beta features, experimental features must not be used in production environments. Docker does not offer support for experimental features. ## Notifications Use the **Notifications** tab to turn on or turn off notifications for the following events: - **Status updates on tasks and processes** - **Recommendations from Docker** - **Docker announcements** - **Docker surveys** By default, all general notifications are turned on. You'll always receive error notifications and notifications about new Docker Desktop releases and updates. You can also [configure notification settings for Docker Scout-related issues](/manuals/scout/explore/dashboard.md#notification-settings). Notifications momentarily appear in the lower-right of the Docker Desktop Dashboard and then move to the **Notifications** drawer which can be accessed from the top-right of the Docker Desktop Dashboard. ## Advanced On Mac, you can reconfigure your initial installation settings on the **Advanced** tab: - **Choose how to configure the installation of Docker's CLI tools**. - **System**: Docker CLI tools are installed in the system directory under `/usr/local/bin` - **User**: Docker CLI tools are installed in the user directory under `$HOME/.docker/bin`. You must then add `$HOME/.docker/bin` to your PATH. To add `$HOME/.docker/bin` to your path: 1. Open your shell configuration file. This is `~/.bashrc` if you're using a bash shell, or `~/.zshrc` if you're using a zsh shell. 2. Copy and paste the following: ```console $ export PATH=$PATH:~/.docker/bin ``` 3. Save and the close the file. Restart your shell to apply the changes to the PATH variable. - **Allow the default Docker socket to be used (Requires password)**. Creates `/var/run/docker.sock` which some third party clients may use to communicate with Docker Desktop. For more information, see [permission requirements for macOS](/manuals/desktop/setup/install/mac-permission-requirements.md#installing-symlinks). - **Allow privileged port mapping (Requires password)**. Starts the privileged helper process which binds the ports that are between 1 and 1024. For more information, see [permission requirements for macOS](/manuals/desktop/setup/install/mac-permission-requirements.md#binding-privileged-ports). For more information on each configuration and use case, see [Permission requirements](/manuals/desktop/setup/install/mac-permission-requirements.md).

This section covers the Notifications tab in Docker Desktop, allowing users to control which types of notifications they receive. It then delves into the Advanced settings on macOS, where users can reconfigure CLI tool installation, enable the default Docker socket, and allow privileged port mapping, detailing the implications and password requirements for each.