47.8 Docker Desktop: what it includes, install and licence

Example 1: Install with winget (PowerShell)

Type this:

winget install -e --id Docker.DockerDesktop

You will see:

Found Docker Desktop [Docker.DockerDesktop] Version 4.34.3
Successfully installed

What it means: -e means exact name match. A restart may be needed.

Example 2: Check WSL 2 is the backend

Type this:

wsl -l -v

You will see:

  NAME              STATE      VERSION
* Ubuntu-24.04      Running    2
  docker-desktop    Running    2

What it means: Docker Desktop made its own small Linux called docker-desktop.

Example 3: Run a test in PowerShell

Type this:

docker run --rm hello-world | Select-String Hello

You will see:

Hello from Docker!

What it means: The docker command works straight from PowerShell.

Example 4: Check the Mac chip

Type this:

uname -m

You will see:

arm64

What it means: arm64 means an Apple chip. x86_64 means Intel.

Example 5: Install with Homebrew

Type this:

brew install --cask docker
open -a Docker

You will see:

==> Installing Cask docker
docker was successfully installed!

What it means: The whale icon appears in the top menu bar when the engine is ready.

Example 6: Run a test

Type this:

docker run --rm hello-world | head -2
docker version --format '{{.Server.Os}}/{{.Server.Arch}}'

You will see:

Hello from Docker!
linux/arm64

What it means: The server is Linux, inside the hidden VM, even though you are on a Mac.

Example 7: Install the package

Type this:

sudo apt-get install -y ./docker-desktop-amd64.deb

You will see:

Setting up docker-desktop (4.34.3-170107) ...

What it means: Download the .deb file from Docker's website first.

Example 8: Start it

Type this:

systemctl --user start docker-desktop

You will see:

(no output, the Desktop window opens)

What it means: It runs as your user, not as a system service.

Example 9: Switch between Desktop and Engine

Type this:

docker context ls

You will see:

NAME            DESCRIPTION                   DOCKER ENDPOINT
default         Current DOCKER_HOST          unix:///var/run/docker.sock
desktop-linux * Docker Desktop               unix:///home/ravi/.docker/desktop/docker.sock

What it means: Two engines on one laptop. The star shows which one you are using. Lesson 47.14 explains contexts.

Example 10: Start a container in the terminal

Type this:

docker run -d --name web -p 8080:80 nginx:1.27

You will see:

5b2e...

What it means: Now look at the Containers tab: web is there, green, with a link 8080:80.

Example 11: Read logs from the terminal

Type this:

docker logs web | tail -2

You will see:

/docker-entrypoint.sh: Configuration complete; ready for start up

What it means: The Logs tab in the window shows the same lines. docker logs prints what the container wrote.

Example 12: Stop it from the window, check in terminal

Type this:

docker ps -a --filter name=web --format '{{.Names}} {{.Status}}'

You will see:

web Exited (0) 3 seconds ago

What it means: You clicked Stop in the window, and the terminal agrees.

Example 13: See what the engine has

Type this:

docker info --format 'CPUs: {{.NCPU}}  Memory: {{.MemTotal}}'

You will see:

CPUs: 4  Memory: 8217473024

What it means: 4 CPUs and about 8 GB. That is what containers can share.

Example 14: A build that needs more memory

Type this:

docker build -t big-java .

You will see:

ERROR: failed to solve: process "/bin/sh -c mvn package" did not complete successfully: exit code: 137

What it means: 137 means out of memory (lesson 47.4). Raise memory in Settings, Resources, then rebuild.

Example 15: See disk used

Type this:

docker system df

You will see:

TYPE            TOTAL     ACTIVE    SIZE
Images          12        2         3.1GB
Containers      2         0         0B
Build Cache     45        0         1.2GB

What it means: Docker Desktop's disk can fill up. docker system prune frees space; lesson 47.11 covers it.

Example 16: Check the cluster

Type this:

kubectl get nodes

You will see:

NAME             STATUS   ROLES           AGE   VERSION
docker-desktop   Ready    control-plane   2m    v1.30.2

What it means: A real Kubernetes, with one node, on your laptop. Chapter 59 starts Kubernetes properly.

Example 17: Run nginx on it

Type this:

kubectl create deployment web --image=nginx:1.27
kubectl get pods

You will see:

deployment.apps/web created
NAME                   READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
web-7d4b9c8f5d-x2k9p   1/1     Running   0          8s

What it means: Kubernetes started nginx from the same image.

Example 18: Clean up

Type this:

kubectl delete deployment web
docker rm -f web

You will see:

deployment.apps "web" deleted
web

What it means: Both are gone.

Example 19: Quick summary of an image

Type this:

docker scout quickview nginx:1.27

You will see:

Target     nginx:1.27
  vulnerabilities  0C 1H 3M 40L

What it means: C, H, M, L mean critical, high, medium and low. One high problem is worth looking at.

Example 20: List the problems

Type this:

docker scout cves --only-severity high nginx:1.27

You will see:

HIGH  CVE-YYYY-NNNNN  libexpat 2.5.0-1  fixed in 2.5.0-1+deb12u1

What it means: Each line names the package and the version that fixes it. CVE-YYYY-NNNNN is a placeholder here; your screen shows the real CVE number.

Example 21: Ask what to change

Type this:

docker scout recommendations nginx:1.27

You will see:

Tag 1.27-alpine:  0C 0H 1M 2L  (smaller and fewer issues)

What it means: Scout suggests a better base image. Chapter 48 shows how to switch.

Example 22: Make a small website folder

Type this:

mkdir -p ~/site && printf 'Hello from my laptop\n' > ~/site/index.html
cat ~/site/index.html

You will see:

Hello from my laptop

What it means: printf writes one line into index.html.

Example 23: Serve it with nginx

Type this:

docker run -d --name site -p 8090:80 -v ~/site:/usr/share/nginx/html:ro nginx:1.27
curl -s localhost:8090

You will see:

Hello from my laptop

What it means: :ro means read-only: the container can read but not change your files.

Example 24: Edit and see the change at once

Type this:

printf 'Edited on the laptop\n' > ~/site/index.html
curl -s localhost:8090
docker rm -f site

You will see:

Edited on the laptop
site

What it means: No restart needed. This is how front-end teams at Meesho preview changes. Chapter 50 covers volumes fully.

Example 25: See which account you are signed in with

Type this:

docker info --format '{{.Name}}'; docker login 2>&1 | head -1

You will see:

docker-desktop
Authenticating with existing credentials... [Username: ravi]

What it means: The Desktop app shows your plan under your account icon.

Example 26: A big company case

Type this:

echo 'Infosys: 300,000+ staff -> paid plan, or use Docker Engine in WSL 2 / Rancher Desktop'

You will see:

Infosys: 300,000+ staff -> paid plan, or use Docker Engine in WSL 2 / Rancher Desktop

What it means: Large firms like Infosys and Accenture either buy plans or give developers a free alternative (lesson 47.9).

Example 27: A small startup case

Type this:

echo 'Startup: 40 staff, 2M USD revenue -> free'

You will see:

Startup: 40 staff, 2M USD revenue -> free

What it means: Both conditions are under the limit, so free use is allowed.

Example 28: Update with winget

Type this:

winget upgrade --id Docker.DockerDesktop

You will see:

No available upgrade found.

What it means: Already the newest.

Example 29: Uninstall on Mac

Type this:

brew uninstall --cask docker

You will see:

==> Uninstalling Cask docker
==> Removing files

What it means: The whale icon disappears.

Example 30: Uninstall on Windows

Type this:

winget uninstall --id Docker.DockerDesktop
wsl -l -v

You will see:

Successfully uninstalled
  NAME            STATE      VERSION
* Ubuntu-24.04    Stopped    2

What it means: The docker-desktop Linux is gone. Your own Ubuntu stays.