Running Docker through WSL instead of Docker Desktop cut my resource usage in half, but there's a catch

A user found that running Docker through Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) instead of Docker Desktop reduced resource usage by half. According to XDA Developers, the user's Task Manager showed that Docker Desktop's helper processes were using over a GB of memory even when not in use.

The user switched to using Docker with WSL2, which is free to use. Dev.to explains that Docker Desktop's licensing issue led many developers to find alternatives. The Docker engine itself, dockerd, is open-source and can run in WSL2. A tool called Skrog allows users to run Docker in WSL2 without the need for Docker Desktop.

However, using Docker with WSL2 has some limitations. The WSL2 virtual machine can disappear when shut down or put to sleep, and the Docker engine may crash, requiring manual intervention to restart. A supervisor tool, Skrog, can help manage the Docker engine and ensure it restarts automatically.

Brief written by urgent.news from XDA Developers, Dev.to — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.