Docker

Docker packages an application and everything it needs into a container, which runs the same way on a laptop, a data center or a cloud provider. Docker Engine is the open source runtime: a daemon (dockerd), an API and the docker command line client. Docker Desktop is a one-click install for Mac, Windows and Linux with a graphical Dashboard for containers, images, volumes, builds, Kubernetes and logs.

Docker Desktop also includes Docker Compose, Docker Build, Kubernetes, Docker Scout, the Gordon AI assistant, Docker Model Runner and the MCP Toolkit. Docker Hub is used to find and share images.

Docker Engine is licensed under Apache 2.0. Docker Desktop is free for personal use, education, non-commercial open source and businesses with fewer than 250 employees and less than USD 10 million revenue. Paid plans per user per month, billed yearly: Pro USD 9, Team USD 15, Business USD 24 (Pro USD 11 and Team USD 16 billed monthly).

Made for

Developers and development teams who build, share and run containerized applications, from individual developers (Personal, Pro) to small teams (Team) and enterprises that need security, control and compliance features (Business).

Use cases

• Package an application and its dependencies as a container image
• Run a multi-container application from one Compose file
• Pull and share images through Docker Hub
• Run a local Kubernetes cluster for testing
• Run the same containers in CI/CD and in production
• Scan images for vulnerabilities with Docker Scout

An alternative to

• GitHub

  Builds and runs containers on your own computer with Docker Desktop (Mac, Windows, Linux); Docker Engine is open source (Apache 2.0).