Install Docker Desktop on RHEL

• Prerequisites
• Install Docker Desktop
• Launch Docker Desktop
• Upgrade Docker Desktop
• Next steps

Docker Desktop terms

Commercial use of Docker Desktop in larger enterprises (more than 250 employees or more than $10 million USD in annual revenue) requires a paid subscription.

This page contains information on how to install, launch and upgrade Docker Desktop on a Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) distribution.

Prerequisites

To install Docker Desktop successfully, you must:

• Meet the general system requirements.

• Have a 64-bit version of either RHEL 9 or RHEL 10.

• If pass is not installed, or it can't be installed, you must enable CodeReady Linux Builder (CRB) repository and Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux (EPEL).

  {{< tabs group="os_version" >}} {{< tab name="RHEL 10" >}}

  $ sudo subscription-manager repos --enable codeready-builder-for-rhel-10-$(arch)-rpms
  $ sudo dnf install https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-10.noarch.rpm
  $ sudo dnf install pass
  

  {{< /tab >}} {{< tab name="RHEL 9" >}}

  $ sudo subscription-manager repos --enable codeready-builder-for-rhel-9-$(arch)-rpms
  $ sudo dnf install https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-9.noarch.rpm
  $ sudo dnf install pass
  

  {{< /tab >}} {{< /tabs >}}

• For a GNOME desktop environment you must install AppIndicator and KStatusNotifierItem GNOME extensions. You must also enable EPEL.

  {{< tabs group="os_version" >}} {{< tab name="RHEL 10" >}}

  $ # enable EPEL as described above
  $ sudo dnf install gnome-shell-extension-appindicator
  $ sudo gnome-extensions enable appindicatorsupport@rgcjonas.gmail.com
  

  {{< /tab >}} {{< tab name="RHEL 9" >}}

  $ # enable EPEL as described above
  $ sudo dnf install gnome-shell-extension-appindicator
  $ sudo gnome-extensions enable appindicatorsupport@rgcjonas.gmail.com
  

  {{< /tab >}} {{< /tabs >}}

• If you're not using GNOME, you must install gnome-terminal to enable terminal access from Docker Desktop:

  $ sudo dnf install gnome-terminal
  

Install Docker Desktop

To install Docker Desktop on RHEL:

1. Set up Docker's package repository as follows:

   $ sudo dnf config-manager --add-repo {{% param "download-url-base" %}}/docker-ce.repo
   

2. Download the latest RPM package.

3. Install the package with dnf as follows:

   $ sudo dnf install ./docker-desktop-x86_64-rhel.rpm
   

The RPM package includes a post-install script that completes additional setup steps automatically.

The post-install script:

• Sets the capability on the Docker Desktop binary to map privileged ports and set resource limits.
• Adds a DNS name for Kubernetes to /etc/hosts.
• Creates a symlink from /usr/local/bin/com.docker.cli to /usr/bin/docker. This is because the classic Docker CLI is installed at /usr/bin/docker. The Docker Desktop installer also installs a Docker CLI binary that includes cloud-integration capabilities and is essentially a wrapper for the Compose CLI, at /usr/local/bin/com.docker.cli. The symlink ensures that the wrapper can access the classic Docker CLI.
• Creates a symlink from /usr/libexec/qemu-kvm to /usr/local/bin/qemu-system-x86_64.

Launch Docker Desktop

{{% include "desktop-linux-launch.md" %}}

$ docker run --rm -it -v "/etc/pki/entitlement:/etc/pki/entitlement" -v "/etc/rhsm:/etc/rhsm-host" -v "/etc/yum.repos.d/redhat.repo:/etc/yum.repos.d/redhat.repo" registry.access.redhat.com/ubi9

Upgrade Docker Desktop

Once a new version for Docker Desktop is released, the Docker UI shows a notification. You need to first remove the previous version and then download the new package each time you want to upgrade Docker Desktop. Run:

$ sudo dnf remove docker-desktop
$ sudo dnf install ./docker-desktop-<arch>-rhel.rpm

Next steps

• Review Docker's subscriptions to see what Docker can offer you.
• Take a look at Get started with Docker to learn how to build an image and run it as a containerized application.
• Explore Docker Desktop and all its features.
• Troubleshooting describes common problems, workarounds, how to run and submit diagnostics, and submit issues.
• FAQs provide answers to frequently asked questions.
• Release notes lists component updates, new features, and improvements associated with Docker Desktop releases.
• Back up and restore data provides instructions on backing up and restoring data related to Docker.