Docker for Windows Desktop… Now With Kubernetes!

Today we are excited to announce the beta for Docker for Windows Desktop with integrated Kubernetes is now available in the edge channel! This release includes Kubernetes 1.8, just like the Docker for Mac and Docker Enterprise Edition and will allow you to develop Linux containers.

The easiest way to get Kubernetes on your desktop is here.

Simply check the box and go

What You Can Do with Kubernetes on your desktop?

Docker for Mac and Docker for Windows are the most popular way to configure a Docker dev environment, and are each used everyday by millions of developers to build, test, and debug containerized apps. The beauty of building with Docker for Mac or Windows is that you can deploy the exact same set of Docker container images on your desktop as you do on your production systems with Docker EE.

Docker for Mac and Docker for Windows are used for building, testing and preparing to ship applications, whereas Docker EE provides the ability to secure and manage your applications in production at scale. You eliminate the “it worked on my machine” problem because you run the same Docker containers on the same Docker engines in development, testing, and production environments, along with the same Docker Swarm and Kubernetes orchestrators.

With beta support for Kubernetes, Docker provides users end-to-end container-management software and services spanning from developer workstations running Docker for Mac or Docker for Windows, through test and CI/CD using Docker CE or Docker Enterprise Edition (EE), our container platform, through to production systems on-premises or in the cloud running Docker EE.

How to Get Started

A few things to keep in mind:

• Edge channel required
  Kubernetes support is still considered a beta with this release, so to enable the download and use of Kubernetes components you must be on the Edge channel. The Docker for Windows version should be 18.02 or later.
• Already using other Kubernetes tools?
  If you are already running a version of kubectl pointed at another environment, for example minikube, you will want to follow the activation instructions to change contexts to docker-for-desktop.

Things To Try

If you are new to Kubernetes and looking for some introductory exercises to try, here are a few resources:

• The Docker for Windows Desktop with Kubernetes page has instructions for getting an example app up and running
• Follow along with Docker Developer Advocate Elton Stoneman during his short video, demonstrating activating Kubernetes and deploying an application using both Docker compose and a Kubernetes manifest. (Note: the video shows Docker for Mac but the application works exactly the same in this beta of Docker for Windows…the power of Docker containers in action!)

Send Us Your Feedback

Send us your feedback, ideas for improvement, bugs, complaints and more so we can make Docker better on the Desktop. You can use the Docker community forums for general discussions and you can also directly file technical issues on Github.

Learn More:

• Get Docker for Windows Desktop
• Sign-up to download the Docker EE beta with Kubernetes or try it in our labs
• Watch our DockerCon Europe 2017 Kubernetes Announcement