Docker Desktop & WSL 2 – Backport Update

While we have continued to make improvements to our Windows experience on Docker Desktop for users of HyperV, we are excited to see that Microsoft has announced the backport of WSL 2 to Windows version 1903 and 1909. This means that as of today, Docker Desktop Edge users will be able to use Docker Desktop with WSL 2 rather than our legacy HyperV based backend. This is available not only for Windows Pro and Windows Enterprise, but also for Windows Home users. This is the first time that Docker has been available on Windows Home versions 1903 and 1909! 🎉

This means that these developers will be able to take advantage of WSL 2 and Docker’s integration, allowing developers to store their code within their WSL 2 distro and run the Docker CLI from within this distro. This removes the need to access files stored on the Windows host and provides significant performance improvements for users.

To find out more about using Docker Desktop with WSL 2, check out Simon’s full tips and tricks article. If you want to learn more about how Docker developed the WSL 2 backend you can have a look through our history of the integration or learn more about the implementation details of the backend check out one of Simon’s other blog posts. 

If you are enjoying Docker Desktop but have ideas of what we could do to make it better then please give us feedback. You can let us know what features you want to see next via our roadmap, including voting up GPU support for WSL 2. Or if you are new to Docker, download Docker Desktop and get started with WSL 2 today.