Setting Up Docker with WSL¶

1. Install and Configure WSL¶

Enable WSL Features¶

Open the command line as administrator and run the following commands to enable WSL features:

dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:VirtualMachinePlatform /all /norestart

dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux /all /norestart

Install the Linux Kernel Update Package¶

Download and install the latest Linux kernel update package from Microsoft:

Download wsl_update_x64.msi

After installation, restart Windows.

Set WSL to Version 2¶

Run the following command as administrator to set WSL to version 2:

wsl --set-default-version 2

Restart Windows again to apply the changes.

2. Enable Systemd in WSL¶

Check WSL Version¶

Ensure you are running WSL version 0.67.6 or higher. Check your version with:

wsl --version

If the command fails, upgrade to the Microsoft Store version of WSL. Run the following command to update:

wsl --update

Alternatively, download the latest release from the:¶

WSL release page.

Configure Systemd¶

Edit the wsl.conf file to enable systemd. Open the file with sudo privileges:

sudo nano /etc/wsl.conf

Add the following lines:

[boot]
systemd=true

Save and exit the editor (CTRL+O, then CTRL+X).

Restart WSL¶

Close your WSL instance and run the following command in PowerShell to restart WSL:

wsl.exe --shutdown

Launch your WSL instance again and verify systemd is running:

systemctl list-unit-files --type=service

For more details, refer to the official blog post.

3. Install Docker and Docker Compose v2 in WSL 2¶

Install Docker¶

Run the following commands to install Docker:

curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh
sudo sh get-docker.sh

Add Your User to the Docker Group¶

Add your user to the Docker group to avoid using sudo with Docker commands:

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
newgrp docker

Verify Installation¶

Check that Docker and Docker Compose were installed successfully:

docker --version
docker compose version

4. Additional Step for Ubuntu 22.04 or Debian 10+¶

If you're using Ubuntu 22.04 or Debian 10+, configure iptables for compatibility:

sudo update-alternatives --config iptables

Select option 1 to use iptables-legacy.

Start Docker¶

Start the Docker service:

sudo service docker start

Check the status of Docker:

sudo service docker status

Note: You may need to reboot Windows or restart WSL after applying the iptables configuration to ensure networking inside your containers works correctly.