Docker Desktop on Windows: Post-Installation Configuration and Switching Between Container Types

- The following hardware prerequisites are required to successfully run WSL 2 on Windows 10 or Windows 11: - 64-bit processor with [Second Level Address Translation (SLAT)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Level_Address_Translation) - 4GB system RAM - Enable hardware virtualization in BIOS/UEFI. For more information, see [Virtualization](/manuals/desktop/troubleshoot-and-support/troubleshoot/topics.md#virtualization). > [!IMPORTANT] > > Windows containers are not supported. {{< /tab >}} {{< /tabs >}} 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. Running Docker Desktop inside a VMware ESXi or Azure VM is supported for Docker Business customers. It requires enabling nested virtualization on the hypervisor first. For more information, see [Running Docker Desktop in a VM or VDI environment](/manuals/desktop/setup/vm-vdi.md). {{< accordion title="How do I switch between Windows and Linux containers?" >}} From the Docker Desktop menu, you can toggle which daemon (Linux or Windows) the Docker CLI talks to. Select **Switch to Windows containers** to use Windows containers, or select **Switch to Linux containers** to use Linux containers (the default). For more information on Windows containers, refer to the following documentation: - Microsoft documentation on [Windows containers](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/virtualization/windowscontainers/about/index). - [Build and Run Your First Windows Server Container (Blog Post)](https://www.docker.com/blog/build-your-first-docker-windows-server-container/) gives a quick tour of how to build and run native Docker Windows containers on Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016 evaluation releases. - [Getting Started with Windows Containers (Lab)](https://github.com/docker/labs/blob/master/windows/windows-containers/README.md) shows you how to use the [MusicStore](https://github.com/aspnet/MusicStore/) application with Windows containers. The MusicStore is a standard .NET application and, [forked here to use containers](https://github.com/friism/MusicStore), is a good example of a multi-container application. - To understand how to connect to Windows containers from the local host, see [I want to connect to a container from Windows](/manuals/desktop/features/networking.md#i-want-to-connect-to-a-container-from-the-host) > [!NOTE] > > When you switch to Windows containers, **Settings** only shows those tabs that are active and apply to your Windows containers. If you set proxies or daemon configuration in Windows containers mode, these apply only on Windows containers. If you switch back to Linux containers, proxies and daemon configurations return to what you had set for Linux containers. Your Windows container settings are retained and become available again when you switch back. {{< /accordion >}} ## Install Docker Desktop on Windows > [!TIP] > > See the [FAQs](/manuals/desktop/troubleshoot-and-support/faqs/general.md#how-do-i-run-docker-desktop-without-administrator-privileges) on how to install and run Docker Desktop without needing administrator privileges. ### Install interactively 1. Download the installer using the download button at the top of the page, or from the [release notes](/manuals/desktop/release-notes.md). 2. Double-click `Docker Desktop Installer.exe` to run the installer. By default, Docker Desktop is installed at `C:\Program Files\Docker\Docker`. 3. When prompted, ensure the **Use WSL 2 instead of Hyper-V** option on the Configuration page is selected or not depending on your choice of backend. On systems that support only one backend, Docker Desktop automatically selects the available option. 4. Follow the instructions on the installation wizard to authorize the installer and proceed with the installation.

This section covers aspects of Docker Desktop on Windows after installation, including hardware requirements for WSL 2, sharing of containers among users, running Docker Desktop in VMs (Docker Business only), and switching between Windows and Linux containers. It details how to toggle between daemons for different container types, along with links to Microsoft documentation and Docker blog posts on Windows containers. It also provides a step-by-step guide to installing Docker Desktop interactively, including selecting the WSL 2 or Hyper-V backend during the installation process and references FAQs for installing without administrator privileges.