Docker and WSL 2 on Windows

Docker Desktop can use the WSL 2 backend to run Linux containers on Windows. Install/update WSL according to Microsoft's current instructions, install Docker Desktop, and enable integration only for the WSL distributions that need the Docker CLI.

Inside an integrated distribution, check:

docker version
docker context show

A WSL shell by itself is not automatically a Docker daemon. Docker Desktop manages its engine; a separate Docker Engine installed inside a WSL distribution is a different setup and can conflict over sockets, ports, or resources. Choose one approach and follow its documentation.

Keep source code in a location that performs well for the workload, and review Docker Desktop's CPU, memory, disk, and file-sharing settings. If WSL integration is missing, restart Docker Desktop/WSL and inspect the selected distribution rather than installing multiple daemons blindly. Do not expose the Docker socket from WSL to untrusted networks.

Sources

• Docker Desktop with WSL 2

• Microsoft WSL documentation