This post is intended as a getting-started overview alongside tips and gotchas that I noticed whilst using Docker on different platforms. I am by no means an advanced Docker user, but I hope having everything you need in one place is helpful to you.<\/p>\n
Docker for Windows and Mac<\/h2>\n
As the application uses newer technologies only available in newer machines and OS versions, it has minimum requirements, which are:<\/p>\n
Mac<\/strong><\/p>\n Windows<\/strong><\/p>\n If your computer or OS doesn\u2019t meet requirements, then you can still use the older Docker Toolbox version that uses VirtualBox. But even to use Docker Toolbox, you will still need a 64-bit version of Windows 7 or later.<\/p>\n One of the first gotchas to look out for when using Docker natively on Windows is that it needs Virtualization and Hyper-V<\/a> (Windows native virtualization) enabled; this will cause VirtualBox to stop working. If you use any other virtual machines (including Vagrant), then you\u2019re out of luck.<\/p>\n When you run Docker for the first time, it will check that Hyper-V is enabled and if not, enable it for you. You may need to enable virtualization on your processor, which involves changing BIOS settings. This is a potentially complex step, but this guide<\/a> might help.<\/p>\n Download for Mac here<\/a> and Windows here<\/a>. Recent changes to the way Docker brands its versions have made this more confusing than it used to be, but these links should take you directly to the correct pages.<\/p>\n If you are using Docker Toolbox and Docker Machine on a Mac, your images and containers can typically coexist together.<\/p>\n On Windows, this is not possible locally, but you can use Docker Machine to create remote containers. Docker for Mac and Windows are fully native to the host platform and install everything into locations you would expect (e.g., the Applications<\/em> folder on a Mac), using symlinks to make certain tools accessible on the command line.<\/p>\n When you first run the Docker application, it will check your system for compatibility and requirements, show a welcome screen, and then start the Docker process. Your main interaction with the Docker application will be via a menu bar item, for example, to stop and start the Docker process, open Kitematic for GUI access to your containers, find documentation, and access preferences.<\/p>\n The General<\/em> pane has settings for launch, updates, usage statistics, and excluding the virtual machine from backups (Mac only), which is a simple but useful feature to have, as it can end up being a large file.<\/p>\n While sharing volumes between Docker containers and the host operating system was possible with Docker Toolbox, it could be slow and suffer permissions issues.<\/p>\n Docker for Mac uses a new file system created by Docker called \u2018osxfs\u2019. I can\u2019t find much detail on the new file system, but there is some info here<\/a>. You can add or remove share local paths to share with containers using the +<\/em> and \u2013<\/em> buttons, but these paths shouldn\u2019t overlap, e.g., not Users<\/em> and Users\/homefolder<\/em>.<\/p>\n Docker for Windows uses SMB and you can only share an entire drive to Docker. Make sure you use credentials that have necessary permissions to access the paths you will need in containers.<\/p>\n This pane lets you change the specs of the virtual machine and change the location of the disk image.<\/p>\n The application should automatically detect any HTTP(s) proxy settings you have at an operating system level, but you can check or override them here. While not a part of this preference pane, it will also automatically detect any VPN settings you have, allowing access to any containers running within it.<\/p>\n Finally, in the Daemon<\/em> pane, you can opt in to experimental features and configure registries you use for custom images. If you\u2019re feeling bold, you can configure the same options via the embedded JSON field.<\/p>\n Little of the process for using Docker has changed, except that it requires fewer steps. To start Docker, open the Docker application, and quit it to stop Docker. While Docker is running, you should be able to access it via Kitematic and any Mac or Windows shells (except Bash for Windows, as that is its own virtualized environment) and issue Docker commands as normal.<\/p>\n For example, with the application running, you can use Kitematic or the command line to download and start images as containers. Here\u2019s the \u2018hello world\u2019 image running in Kitematic:<\/p>\n Notice something else cool there? No more custom IP addresses to remember! All your Docker containers now run on Other Docker commands such as oh just : screen ~\/Library\/Containers\/com.docker.docker\/Data\/com.docker.driver.amd64-linux\/tty – and boom you're in the vm<\/p>\n — Lorenzo Fontana (@fntlnz) April 3, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n
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![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.webcodegeeks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/docker_windows_no_hyper_v.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nInstall and set up<\/h3>\n
Co-existing with Docker Toolbox<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.webcodegeeks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/docker_mac_package.png\")
<\/a>First launch and configuration<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.webcodegeeks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/docker_mac_prefs.gif\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.webcodegeeks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/docker_windows_prefs.gif\")
<\/a><\/p>\nGeneral<\/h2>\n
File sharing<\/h2>\n
Advanced<\/h2>\n
Proxies<\/h2>\n
Daemon<\/h2>\n
Using Docker natively<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.webcodegeeks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/docker_mac_localhost.png\")
<\/a>localhost<\/code> and will be port mapped to the address.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.webcodegeeks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/docker_mac_browser.png\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.webcodegeeks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/docker_windows_kitematic.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.webcodegeeks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/docker_windows_cli.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\ndocker-compose<\/code> and docker-machine<\/code> work, but for Machine (and thus Swarm) you will need to define a non-native driver<\/a>. This means you can manage Docker Machine from your Mac or Windows machine, but they will still be hosted elsewhere and still need to be managed by the traditional eval $(docker-machine env default)<\/code> commands.<\/p>\nBonus: Want to access the VM on a Mac?<\/h3>\n
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