Install Docker Desktop on macOS

On macOS, the supported desktop path is Docker Desktop. Download the installer for your Mac's architecture from Docker's current Mac installation guide, start the application, and wait until the engine reports that it is running.

Verify from a new terminal:

docker version
docker run --rm hello-world

Docker Desktop runs the Linux engine inside its managed environment; the containers are not native macOS processes. Choose the Apple silicon or Intel build that matches the Mac, and review the installation's permissions and resource settings. The Docker CLI may be installed separately, but a CLI without an engine cannot run containers.

If docker is missing, restart the terminal after installation and check command -v docker. If the CLI connects to the wrong engine, inspect docker context ls. Avoid old Docker Toolbox tutorials and do not delete Docker Desktop's data directory unless you intend to remove local images, containers, and volumes.

Sources

• Docker documentation
• Docker CLI reference