How do I install Docker on WSL2?
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MathWorks Support Team
on 12 Jul 2022
Edited: MathWorks Support Team
on 18 Jun 2025
I am trying to create microservice Docker images on a Windows machine. How do I install and use Docker using Windows Subsystem for Linux v2 (WSL2)?
Accepted Answer
MathWorks Support Team
on 18 Jun 2025
Edited: MathWorks Support Team
on 18 Jun 2025
To use Docker with WSL2, you should have WSL2 installed. You can list your installed Linux distributions and check the version of WSL each is set to by entering below command in PowerShell or Windows Command Prompt.
wsl -l -v
If WSL2 is not installed, you can install WSL2 using below command. For more detailed instructions, please refer to https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/wsl/install.
wsl --install
After installation, start a new WSL2 session and you will be asked to create a User Name and Password for your Linux distribution. Follow the prompt for instructions.
wsl -d Ubuntu
Next, complete the following steps. The instructions assume you are using an Ubuntu or Debian distribution. For other Linux distributions, see https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/.
Update software packages.
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade
Install Docker dependencies.
sudo apt install --no-install-recommends apt-transport-https ca-certificates curl gnupg2
Switch the firewall to legacy iptables.
sudo update-alternatives --set iptables /usr/sbin/iptables-legacy
If you receive error "update-alternatives: error: no alternatives for iptables". Run below commands to install iptables first. Then retry above step.
sudo apt update
sudo apt install iptables
Download the Docker OpenPGP signing key for your distribution.
. /etc/os-release
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/${ID}/gpg | gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/docker-archive-keyring.gpg
Add the Docker package repository to /etc/apt/sources.list.d.
echo "deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/docker-archive-keyring.gpg] https://download.docker.com/linux/${ID} ${VERSION_CODENAME} stable" \
| sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list
Install Docker.
sudo apt update
sudo apt install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io
Add the current user to the docker group.
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
Restart the WSL2 session by closing and reopening your WSL2 terminal to apply group changes.
Start Docker Daemon.
sudo dockerd
In a MATLAB command window, confirm that MATLAB detects your Docker installation.
[~,msg] = system('wsl docker version')
1 Comment
Jeremy Huard
on 23 Nov 2022
@Mohamad The creation of microservices on Windows is only supported since R2022b. R2022a only supports Linux: https://www.mathworks.com/help/compiler_sdk/release-notes.html
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