This post is intended as a getting-started overview alongside tips and gotchas that I noticed whilst using Docker on different platforms. These changes aim to make your Docker containers run faster than before, take up less disk space, and fit better into your operating system. Docker for Windows uses Microsoft's virtualization technology, Hyper-V. It worked well but could be unreliable at times and required workarounds that sometimes resulted in unexpected outcomes or not working at all.ĭocker for Mac instead uses virtualization technology that is already part of Mac OS X: HyperVisor. The previous solution, Docker Toolbox, depended on VirtualBox to create a small Linux virtual machine that hosted your images and containers. To run your own virtual machine you can look into using a hypervisor like Virtualbox to run your own linux virtual machine on your mac.Released earlier in 2017, Docker's new native applications for Windows and Mac replaced the older methods for running Docker on Windows and Mac and created a better experience for developers using those platforms. For example docker bind mounts are a core concept in docker, however to get them to work on your Mac, docker desktop must also take responsibility to bridge the gap between MacOS and the Linux virtual machine. But be aware that you may be using some features of docker desktop that you didn't realise were 'features'. That may be the case, I don't know your needs. I don't need any of the features that are exclusive to Docker Desktop® Since these two features are the core of container technology you're highly unlikely to find other non-docker solutions (including Podman) will work either. This is because Docker is a wrapper for namespaces and cgroups which are both Linux concepts with no implementation in the MacOS kernel. Is there a way to install the linux version of docker in macOS? This explains why docker desktop has the concept of allocated resources including a 'disk image size' which have nothing to do with docker engine itself. I have docker desktop running on my Macbook and to the best of my knowledge this is achieved by docker desktop creating a Linux virtual machine and running the Docker engine in that.

As far as I'm aware docker is functionally incompatible with MacOS.

Docker on mac without docker desktop