# Windows > **Note**: This release of Docker deprecates the Boot2Docker command line in > favor of Docker Machine. Use the Docker Toolbox to install Docker Machine as > well as the other Docker tools. You install Docker using Docker Toolbox. Docker Toolbox includes the following Docker tools: * Docker Machine for running the `docker-machine` binary * Docker Engine for running the `docker` binary * Kitematic, the Docker GUI * a shell preconfigured for a Docker command-line environment * Oracle VM VirtualBox Because the Docker daemon uses Linux-specific kernel features, you can't run Docker natively in Windows. Instead, you must use `docker-machine` to create and attach to a Docker VM on your machine. This VM hosts Docker for you on your Windows system. The Docker VM is lightweight Linux virtual machine made specifically to run the Docker daemon on Windows. The VirtualBox VM runs completely from RAM, is a small ~24MB download, and boots in approximately 5s. ## Requirements Your machine must be running Windows 7.1, 8/8.1 or newer to run Docker. To find out what version of Windows you have: 1. Right click the Windows message and choose **System**. ![Which version](/installation/images/win_ver.png) If you aren't using a supported version, you could consider upgrading your operating system. 2. Make sure your Windows system supports Hardware Virtualization Technology and that virtualization is enabled. #### For Windows 8 or 8.1 Choose **Start > Task Manager** and navigate to the **Performance** tab. Under **CPU** you should see the following: ![Release page](/installation/images/virtualization.png) If virtualization is not enabled on your system, follow the manufacturer's instructions for enabling it. ### For Windows 7 Run the Microsoft® Hardware-Assisted Virtualization Detection Tool and follow the on-screen instructions. > **Note**: If you have Docker hosts running and you don't wish to do a Docker Toolbox installation, you can install the `docker.exe` using the *unofficial* Windows package manager Chocolately. For information on how to do this, see [Docker package on Chocolatey](http://chocolatey.org/packages/docker). ### Learn the key concepts before installing In a Docker installation on Linux, your machine is both the localhost and the Docker host. In networking, localhost means your computer. The Docker host is the machine on which the containers run. On a typical Linux installation, the Docker client, the Docker daemon, and any containers run directly on your localhost. This means you can address ports on a Docker container using standard localhost addressing such as `localhost:8000` or `0.0.0.0:8376`. ![Linux Architecture Diagram](/installation/images/linux_docker_host.svg) In an Windows installation, the `docker` daemon is running inside a Linux virtual machine. You use the Windows Docker client to talk to the Docker host VM. Your Docker containers run inside this host. ![Windows Architecture Diagram](/installation/images/win_docker_host.svg) In Windows, the Docker host address is the address of the Linux VM. When you start the VM with `docker-machine` it is assigned an IP address. When you start a container, the ports on a container map to ports on the VM. To see this in practice, work through the exercises on this page. ### Installation If you have VirtualBox running, you must shut it down before running the installer. 1. Go to the [Docker Toolbox](https://www.docker.com/toolbox) page. 2. Click the installer link to download. 3. Install Docker Toolbox by double-clicking the installer. The installer launches the "Setup - Docker Toolbox" dialog. ![Install Docker Toolbox](/installation/images/win-welcome.png) 4. Press "Next" to install the toolbox. The installer presents you with options to customize the standard installation. By default, the standard Docker Toolbox installation: * installs executables for the Docker tools in `C:\Program Files\Docker Toolbox` * updates any existing VirtualBox installation * adds a Docker Inc. folder to your program shortcuts * updates your `PATH` environment variable * adds desktop icons for the Docker Quickstart Terminal and Kitematic This installation assumes the defaults are acceptable. 5. Press "Next" until you reach the "Ready to Install" page. The system prompts you for your password. ![Install](/installation/images/win-page-6.png) 6. Press "Install" to continue with the installation. When it completes, the installer provides you with some information you can use to complete some common tasks. ![All finished](/installation/images/windows-finish.png) 7. Press "Close" to exit. ## Running a Docker Container To run a Docker container, you: * create a new (or start an existing) Docker virtual machine * switch your environment to your new VM * use the `docker` client to create, load, and manage containers Once you create a machine, you can reuse it as often as you like. Like any VirtualBox VM, it maintains its configuration between uses. There are several ways to use the installed tools, from the Docker Quickstart Terminal or [from your shell](#from-your-shell). ### From the Docker Quickstart Terminal 1. Find the Docker Quickstart Terminal icon on your Desktop and double-click to launch it. The application: * opens a terminal window * creates a `docker-vm` if it doesn't exist, starts the VM if it does * points the terminal environment to this VM Once the launch completes, you can run `docker` commands. 3. Verify your setup succeeded by running the `hello-world` container. $ docker run hello-world Unable to find image 'hello-world:latest' locally 511136ea3c5a: Pull complete 31cbccb51277: Pull complete e45a5af57b00: Pull complete hello-world:latest: The image you are pulling has been verified. Important: image verification is a tech preview feature and should not be relied on to provide security. Status: Downloaded newer image for hello-world:latest Hello from Docker. This message shows that your installation appears to be working correctly. To generate this message, Docker took the following steps: 1. The Docker client contacted the Docker daemon. 2. The Docker daemon pulled the "hello-world" image from the Docker Hub. (Assuming it was not already locally available.) 3. The Docker daemon created a new container from that image which runs the executable that produces the output you are currently reading. 4. The Docker daemon streamed that output to the Docker client, which sent it to your terminal. To try something more ambitious, you can run an Ubuntu container with: $ docker run -it ubuntu bash For more examples and ideas, visit: http://docs.docker.com/userguide/ ## Using Docker from Windows Command Line Prompt (cmd.exe) 1. Launch a Windows Command Line Prompt (cmd.exe). The `docker-machine` command requires `ssh.exe` in your `PATH` environment variable. This `.exe` is in the MsysGit `bin` folder. 2. Add this to the `%PATH%` environment variable by running: set PATH=%PATH%;"c:\Program Files (x86)\Git\bin" 3. Create a new Docker VM. docker-machine create --driver virtualbox my-docker-vm Creating VirtualBox VM... Creating SSH key... Starting VirtualBox VM... Starting VM... To see how to connect Docker to this machine, run: docker-machine env my-docker-vm The command also creates a machine configuration in the `C:\USERS\USERNAME\.docker\machine\machines` directory. You only need to run the `create` command once. Then, you can use `docker-machine` to start, stop, query, and otherwise manage the VM from the command line. 4. List your available machines. C:\Users\mary> docker-machine ls NAME ACTIVE DRIVER STATE URL SWARM my-docker-vm * virtualbox Running tcp://192.168.99.101:2376 If you have previously installed the deprecated Boot2Docker application or run the Docker Quickstart Terminal, you may have a `dev` VM as well. 5. Get the environment commands for your new VM. C:\Users\mary> docker-machine env --shell cmd my-docker-vm 6. Connect your shell to the `my-docker-vm` machine. C:\Users\mary> eval "$(docker-machine env my-docker-vm)" 7. Run the `hello-world` container to verify your setup. C:\Users\mary> docker run hello-world ## Using Docker from PowerShell 1. Launch a Windows PowerShell window. 2. Add `ssh.exe` to your PATH: PS C:\Users\mary> $Env:Path = "${Env:Path};c:\Program Files (x86)\Git\bin" 3. Create a new Docker VM. PS C:\Users\mary> docker-machine create --driver virtualbox my-docker-vm 4. List your available machines. C:\Users\mary> docker-machine ls NAME ACTIVE DRIVER STATE URL SWARM my-docker-vm * virtualbox Running tcp://192.168.99.101:2376 5. Get the environment commands for your new VM. C:\Users\mary> docker-machine env --shell powershell my-docker-vm 6. Connect your shell to the `my-docker-vm` machine. C:\Users\mary> eval "$(docker-machine env my-docker-vm)" 7. Run the `hello-world` container to verify your setup. C:\Users\mary> docker run hello-world ## Learn about your Toolbox installation Toolbox installs the Docker Engine binary in the `C:\Program Files\Docker Toolbox` directory. When you use the Docker Quickstart Terminal or create a `docker-vm` manually, Docker Machine updates the `C:\USERS\USERNAME\.docker\machine\machines\docker-vm` folder to your system. This folder contains the configuration for the VM. You can create multiple VMs on your system with Docker Machine. So, you may have more than one VM folder if you have more than one VM. To remove a VM, use the `docker-machine rm ` command. The `docker-machine` subcommands are slightly different than the `boot2docker` subcommands. The table below lists the equivalent `docker-machine` subcommand and what it does: | `boot2docker` | `docker-machine` | `docker-machine` description | |----------------|------------------|----------------------------------------------------------| | init | create | Creates a new docker host. | | up | start | Starts a stopped machine. | | ssh | ssh | Runs a command or interactive ssh session on the machine.| | save | - | Not applicable. | | down | stop | Stops a running machine. | | poweroff | stop | Stops a running machine. | | reset | restart | Restarts a running machine. | | config | inspect | Prints machine configuration details. | | status | ls | Lists all machines and their status. | | info | inspect | Displays a machine's details. | | ip | ip | Displays the machine's ip address. | | shellinit | env | Displays shell commands needed to configure your shell to interact with a machine | | delete | rm | Removes a machine. | | download | - | Not applicable. | | upgrade | upgrade | Upgrades a machine's Docker client to the latest stable release. | ## Upgrade Docker Toolbox To upgrade Docker Toolbox, download an re-run [the Docker Toolbox installer](https://www.docker.com/toolbox). ## Container port redirection If you are curious, the username for the Docker default user is `docker` and the password is `tcuser`. The latest version of `docker-machine` sets up a host only network adaptor which provides access to the container's ports. If you run a container with a published port: $ docker run --rm -i -t -p 80:80 nginx Then you should be able to access that nginx server using the IP address reported to you using: $ docker-machine ip Typically, the IP is 192.168.59.103, but it could get changed by VirtualBox's DHCP implementation. ## Login with PUTTY instead of using the CMD Docker Machine generates and uses the public/private key pair in your `%USERPROFILE%\.ssh` directory so to log in you need to use the private key from this same directory. The private key needs to be converted into the format PuTTY uses. You can do this with [puttygen](http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/download.html): 1. Open `puttygen.exe` and load ("File"->"Load" menu) the private key from `%USERPROFILE%\.ssh\id_boot2docker` 2. Click "Save Private Key". 3. Use the saved file to login with PuTTY using `docker@127.0.0.1:2022`. ## Uninstallation You can uninstall Docker Toolbox using Window's standard process for removing programs. This process does not remove the `docker-install.exe` file. You must delete that file yourself. ## Learn more You can continue with the [Docker User Guide](/userguide). If you are interested in using the Kitematic GUI, see the [Kitermatic user guide](/kitematic/userguide/).