Quick Comparison

The Core Idea

• WSL + Git Bash both talk to the same Docker Desktop Engine — everything is shared.
• VirtualBox has its own separate Docker Engine — completely isolated from Docker Desktop.

Setup: WSL (Recommended)

# 1. Install WSL2 (run in PowerShell as Admin)
wsl --install

# 2. Install Ubuntu from Microsoft Store

# 3. Install Docker Desktop → Enable WSL Integration in settings

# 4. Verify inside Ubuntu (WSL)
docker --version
docker run hello-world

Setup: Git Bash

No extra setup needed. Just install Docker Desktop.

Git Bash shares the same Docker Engine automatically.

docker images
docker ps
docker run nginx

Setup: VirtualBox (if required)

# SSH into VirtualBox VM first
ssh user@<vm-ip>

# Install Docker inside VM
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install docker.io
sudo systemctl start docker
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
newgrp docker

Images and containers inside VirtualBox are NOT visible in Docker Desktop or WSL.