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Kim CH
Kim CH

Posted on Edited on

How to Share Docker Across Multiple WSL 2 Distros and Windows (Without Docker Desktop)

#docker #linux

Docker Desktop makes local container development easy, but its strict licensing terms lead many developers to seek alternative approaches. Running Docker Engine directly inside WSL 2 is one such solution, giving you native Linux performance, total control over your setup, and zero licensing restrictions.

By exposing the Docker daemon over TCP, you can transform a single WSL 2 distribution into a shared container host—giving your Windows terminal and secondary WSL environments instant, seamless access to the exact same Docker engine.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                           WINDOWS HOST OS                             |
|  +---------------------------+     +-------------------------------+  |
|  |   Windows Terminal        |     |   Secondary WSL Distro        |  |
|  |   (PowerShell / CMD)      |     |   (e.g., Ubuntu-Debian)       |  |
|  |   docker-cli              |     |   docker-ce-cli               |  |
|  +-------------+-------------+     +---------------+---------------+  |
|                |                                   |                  |
|                +-----------------+-----------------+                  |
|                                  |                                    |
|                   DOCKER_HOST = tcp://127.0.0.1:2375                  |
|                                  |                                    |
|                                  v                                    |
|  +-----------------------------------------------------------------+  |
|  |                      PRIMARY WSL DISTRO                         |  |
|  |  +-----------------------------------------------------------+  |  |
|  |  |                 Docker Engine (dockerd)                   |  |  |
|  |  |                 Listening on:                             |  |  |
|  |  |                 - unix:///var/run/docker.sock             |  |  |
|  |  |                 - tcp://127.0.0.1:2375                   |  |  |
|  |  +-----------------------------------------------------------+  |  |
|  +-----------------------------------------------------------------+  |  |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
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Here are step-by-step

Step 1: Set Up the Primary WSL Host

Install Docker Engine 

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y && \
sudo apt install -y ca-certificates curl gnupg lsb-release && \
sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings && \
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg && \
echo \
  "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg] \
  https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu $(lsb_release -cs) stable" | \
  sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null && \
sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin && \
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER && \
sudo systemctl enable --now docker
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Override Docker’s systemd unit file

  • Open the docker.service 
sudo systemctl edit docker.service
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  • Paste the following content 
[Service]
ExecStart=
ExecStart=/usr/bin/dockerd -H unix:///var/run/docker.sock -H tcp://127.0.0.1:2375
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Ensure it's always ready when all its terminals closed

  • Modify the wsl.conf by 
sudo vi /etc/wsl.conf
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  • Paste the following content 
[boot]
systemd=true
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Restart services 

sudo systemctl daemon-reload && \
sudo systemctl restart docker && \
sudo systemctl enable docker
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Step 2: Setting WSL Docker Client

Install docker-ce-cli 

sudo apt-get update && \
sudo apt-get install -y ca-certificates curl gnupg && \
sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings && \
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg && \
sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg && \
echo \
  "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu \
  $(. /etc/os-release && echo "$VERSION_CODENAME") stable" | \
  sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null && \
sudo apt-get update && \
sudo apt-get install -y docker-ce-cli
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Define DOCKER_HOST in ~/.zshrc 

export DOCKER_HOST=tcp://127.0.0.1:2375
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Verify 

source ~/.zshrc && docker ps -a
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Step 3: Setting for Windows as Docker Client

Install docker-cli 

winget install Docker.DockerCLI
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Define DOCKER_HOST 

[System.Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable('DOCKER_HOST', "tcp://127.0.0.1:2375", 'User')
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Verify 

docker ps -a
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Notes

After wsl --shutdown or restarted Windows

  • You have to open the terminal of WSL-Docker-Host first

If Testcontainer is being using

It needs to be disable RYUK

  • For WSL, by modifying ~/.zshrc 
export TESTCONTAINERS_RYUK_DISABLED = true
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  • For Windows, by 
[System.Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable('TESTCONTAINERS_HOST_OVERRIDE', "127.0.0.1", 'User') && `
[System.Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable('TESTCONTAINERS_RYUK_DISABLED', "true", 'User')
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