Docker runs on Linux natively and on macOS/Windows via a lightweight Linux VM (Docker Desktop). This guide covers installation and verification on all three platforms.

System Requirements

Platform Requirements
Linux 64-bit, kernel 3.10+ (3.10 for basic, 4.0+ recommended)
macOS macOS 12+ (Apple Silicon or Intel)
Windows Windows 10/11 64-bit, WSL 2 enabled

Linux — Ubuntu/Debian

Official Docker repository (recommended over apt install docker.io):

  # Remove old versions
sudo apt remove docker docker-engine docker.io containerd runc 2>/dev/null

# Install prerequisites
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y ca-certificates curl gnupg

# Add Docker GPG key
sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | \
  sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg
sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg

# Add repository
echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg] \
  https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu $(. /etc/os-release && echo $VERSION_CODENAME) stable" | \
  sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null

# Install
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

Post-Install — Run Without sudo 

  sudo groupadd docker 2>/dev/null
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
newgrp docker

# Verify
docker run hello-world

Log out and back in if newgrp doesn’t apply immediately.

Enable Docker on Boot 

  sudo systemctl enable docker
sudo systemctl start docker
sudo systemctl status docker

macOS — Docker Desktop

  1. Download from docker.com/products/docker-desktop
  2. Open the .dmg and drag Docker to Applications
  3. Launch Docker Desktop — wait for the whale icon to stop animating
  4. Verify in Terminal:
  docker --version
docker compose version
docker run hello-world

Apple Silicon Notes

Docker Desktop runs ARM containers natively. For x86 images:

  docker run --platform linux/amd64 hello-world

Most official images publish multi-arch manifests — Docker selects the correct architecture automatically.

Resource Settings

Docker Desktop → Settings → Resources:

  • CPUs: 2–4 for development
  • Memory: 4–8 GB depending on workloads
  • Disk: monitor usage; prune regularly

Windows — Docker Desktop with WSL 2

  1. Enable WSL 2:
  wsl --install
# Restart if prompted
  1. Download Docker Desktop from docker.com
  2. Install with “Use WSL 2 instead of Hyper-V” checked
  3. Verify in PowerShell or WSL terminal:
  docker run hello-world

Store project files in the WSL filesystem (\\wsl$\Ubuntu\home\you\project) for best performance — not C:\ mounted paths.

Verify Installation

Run this checklist:

  docker --version          # Docker version 24.x or 25.x
docker compose version    # Docker Compose version v2.x
docker info               # System info, no errors
docker run hello-world    # Pulls and runs test container

Expected hello-world output ends with:

  Hello from Docker!
This message shows that your installation appears to be working correctly.

Essential Post-Install Commands 

  # System-wide info
docker info

# Disk usage
docker system df

# Clean up unused resources
docker system prune -a    # removes stopped containers, unused networks, dangling images

# Configure registry mirrors (if needed in restricted networks)
# Edit /etc/docker/daemon.json on Linux

Linux registry mirror example:

  {
  "registry-mirrors": ["https://mirror.example.com"]
}
  
  sudo systemctl restart docker

Docker Compose Plugin

Modern Docker includes Compose as a plugin (not separate docker-compose binary):

  docker compose up       # v2 syntax (preferred)
docker-compose up       # v1 standalone (legacy)

Install is included with Docker Desktop and Linux package above.

Troubleshooting

Issue Fix
permission denied on Linux Add user to docker group
Docker Desktop won’t start (Mac) Reset to factory defaults in Settings
WSL integration not working Settings → Resources → WSL Integration → enable distro
Cannot connect to Docker daemon Start Docker Desktop or sudo systemctl start docker
Out of disk space docker system prune -a --volumes

Alternative: Colima (macOS/Linux)

Lightweight Docker runtime without Docker Desktop:

  brew install colima docker
colima start
docker run hello-world

Popular among developers who prefer open-source tooling.

What Comes Next

With Docker installed, write your first Dockerfile to containerize an application, then orchestrate multi-container setups with Docker Compose.