Beginner Guide · Windows 10 / 11

How to install
Docker

Get a real database running for your tests in minutes — Docker Desktop, step by step

Free ~5 minutes Docker Desktop Windows 10 & 11
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Before we start

Why a tester
wants Docker

Your tests need a real database to run against — and a fresh, identical one every time, without installing Postgres by hand on every machine. One command gives you exactly that.

🗄️

A real database, on demand

Spin up Postgres with one command — no manual install

🔁

Fresh & identical every run

Throw the container away, start a clean one — locally and in CI

📦

Nothing leaks onto your machine

The database lives in the container, not your OS

🤝

Same everywhere

Your laptop, a teammate's, the CI server — no "works on mine"

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1
Step One

Go to the Docker site

Open your browser and head to the official Docker Desktop download page.

🔒docker.com/products/docker-desktop
💡Always download from docker.com — never a mirror or an ad link.
docker.com/products/docker-desktop
🐳
Docker Desktop
The fastest way to containerize applications
Download for Windows
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2
Step Two

Download Docker Desktop

Click Download for Windows. It grabs the installer — a single .exe file, a few hundred MB.

💡On an Apple or Linux machine? Pick that download instead — the steps that follow are Windows, but the idea is the same.
⬇️Download for Windows
Docker Desktop Installer.exe
✓ Download complete · ~550 MB
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Step Three

Run the installer

Open your Downloads folder and double-click the file you just got.

📦 Docker Desktop Installer.exe
💡Windows may ask "Allow this app to make changes?" — click Yes.
Downloads─☐✕
📦
Docker Desktop Installer.exe
550 MB · Application
Open ↗
📄
report.pdf
2 MB
🖼️
screenshot.png
480 KB
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4
Important!

Keep the WSL 2 option on

The installer offers to use the WSL 2 backend. Leave it checked — it's what lets Docker run Linux containers on Windows.

⚠️This box is ticked by default. Just leave it on — Docker Desktop sets up WSL 2 for you.
Docker Desktop — Configuration─☐✕

Configuration

Choose how Docker Desktop should run on your machine.

✓Use WSL 2 instead of Hyper-V (recommended)
✓Add shortcut to desktop
CancelOk
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Step Five

Finish & restart

Let it install, then click Close. Docker Desktop may ask you to restart Windows to finish setting up WSL 2 — go ahead.

🔄A one-time restart is normal here. It's WSL 2 finishing its setup, not something going wrong.
Docker Desktop─☐✕
✅

Installation succeeded

Docker Desktop is installed. A restart is required to complete setup.

Restart
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Step Six

Start Docker Desktop

Launch Docker Desktop from the Start menu. Wait for the whale icon in the system tray to go steady — that means the engine is running.

🐳Keep Docker Desktop running while you use containers — it is the engine.
🐳
Docker Desktop
● Engine running
↑ The whale in your system tray
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Verify Step

Confirm it works

Open PowerShell and run the two "hello world" checks of Docker.

$ docker --version
✅If hello-world prints its greeting, you're done — everything works.
Windows PowerShell
PS C:\Users\Rufat> docker --version
Docker version 29.2.0, build 0b9d198
PS C:\Users\Rufat> docker run hello-world
Hello from Docker!
This message shows your installation is working.
PS C:\Users\Rufat>  
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✅

Docker is ready

Now you can spin up a real database for your tests — with one command

🐘
Run a database
docker run postgres — a fresh Postgres at a known address
🧩
Compose & CI
A docker-compose.yml and a GitHub Actions service container
📚
Learn the rest
The Docker basics reference covers run, compose, and CI in full
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