WSL Docker container not showing in Docker Desktop

This article gives you a step by step procedure on how to make WSL Docker containers visible in your Docker Desktop.
Note: This is not a official document, I did some research and this worked for me, providing you the same steps to follow, it might or might not work for you depending on many reasons, so don’t blame me or article if it won’t works for you. 😅
What is WSL
Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) is a feature of Windows that allows you to run a Linux environment on your Windows machine, without the need for a separate virtual machine or dual booting. WSL is designed to provide a seamless and productive experience for developers who want to use both Windows and Linux at the same time.
reference: What is the Windows Subsystem for Linux? article by Microsoft
As WSL is another environment, docker containers running in might not show in your docker desktop.
If you want, WSL docker containers (Judge0) to show in your docker desktop you can follow the below steps.
Steps to add wsl docker container to docker desktop
step 1:
open your wsl sub-system and run below cmd
docker context ls
It will show something like this:
step 2:
change context from default to desktop-linux
docker context use desktop-linux
NOTE: once you switch to docker-linux, docker windows commands won’t work here, you need to use docker linux commands
step 3:
Switch back to default docker context
That’s right you need to switch back to default, we won’t be using docker-linux context, this switching is only required to refresh the docker context
docker context use default
step 4:
Restart you docker engine
go to docker desktop and follow the steps as per image below to restart the docker engine
step 4:
now restart you docker container
To restart judge0
start the redis db
docker-compose up -d db redis
start judge0
docker-compose up -d
make sure you are in correct directory
it will start showing in you docker desktop.
This process will sync your wsl docker context and system docker context for all the docker containers.
Summary
This article provides a step-by-step guide to making WSL Docker containers visible in Docker Desktop. It involves changing the Docker context, restarting the Docker engine and containers, and ensuring the correct directory is used. These steps sync the WSL Docker context with the system Docker context, allowing containers to appear in Docker Desktop.
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