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DockerContainersWindows7 min read

Install Docker on Windows Server

Install Docker on Windows Server to run Windows and Linux containers.

Docker on Windows Server lets you run native Windows containers and, with WSL2, Linux containers as well.

Step 1 — Install the Containers feature

powershell
Install-WindowsFeature -Name Containers -Restart

The server restarts automatically.

Step 2 — Install Docker Engine

After reboot:

powershell
Invoke-WebRequest -UseBasicParsing "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/microsoft/Windows-Containers/Main/helpful_tools/Install-DockerCE/install-docker-ce.ps1" -o install-docker-ce.ps1
.\install-docker-ce.ps1

Or with the DockerMsftProvider module:

powershell
Install-Module -Name DockerMsftProvider -Repository PSGallery -Force
Install-Package -Name docker -ProviderName DockerMsftProvider -Force
Restart-Computer

Step 3 — Verify installation

powershell
docker version
docker info

Step 4 — Run your first container

powershell
# Windows container
docker run --rm mcr.microsoft.com/windows/nanoserver:ltsc2022 cmd /c "echo Hello from Docker"

# IIS container
docker run -d -p 8080:80 --name web mcr.microsoft.com/windows/servercore/iis

Step 5 — Basic commands

powershell
# List containers
docker ps -a

# View logs
docker logs web

# Stop container
docker stop web

# Remove container
docker rm web

# List images
docker images

Step 6 — Configure Docker as a service

powershell
# Verify the service is running
Get-Service docker

# Set automatic startup
Set-Service -Name docker -StartupType Automatic

Step 7 — Docker Compose

powershell
# Docker Compose is included with Docker Desktop
# For Windows Server, download the binary:
Invoke-WebRequest "https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/latest/download/docker-compose-windows-x86_64.exe" -OutFile "C:\Program Files\Docker\docker-compose.exe"

Docker on your Baires Host Windows VPS lets you containerize applications for consistent and reproducible deployments.

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