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I'm trying to run docker in WSL (Windows 10) using the command sudo service docker start, and it shows:

 Starting Docker: docker

but when I run sudo docker images, it tells me:

Cannot connect to the Docker daemon at unix:///var/run/docker.sock. Is the docker daemon running?

Any ideas on how I can fix this?

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10
  • Hello. So to be clear you will have Windows 10 with WSL running on top of that and now you want Docker running on top of WSL? I have to ask why?
    – David
    Apr 13, 2022 at 11:33
  • Because I have some aws Credential access that did not work on windows
    – Yafaa
    Apr 13, 2022 at 11:36
  • Sorry that does not explain why you are not running the Docker on windows instead of building this tower. Docker is a container what will be running in it?
    – David
    Apr 13, 2022 at 11:38
  • Hello and welcome to Ask Ubuntu. What Ubuntu release are you using on WSL, and can you provide more detail on how you installed it and Docker? Thanks!
    – NotTheDr01ds
    Apr 13, 2022 at 14:37
  • It also might be useful to include the output of ps n -efH to see if the daemon is still running.
    – NotTheDr01ds
    Apr 13, 2022 at 14:42

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
7

It comes from nftables used instead of iptables
I found this solution
sudo update-alternatives --set iptables /usr/sbin/iptables-legacy
from these threads:
https://github.com/microsoft/WSL/discussions/4872
https://patrickwu.space/2021/03/09/wsl-solution-to-native-docker-daemon-not-starting/

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  • Just a heads-up for readers that this is specific to Ubuntu 22.04 (really, I believe 20.10) with WSL. The OP never responded on which version they were using, but most readers who find this will experience this on Docker Engine with Ubuntu 22.04 specifically.
    – NotTheDr01ds
    Oct 28, 2022 at 18:00
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I had this problem after a power outage. If it's the same problem that happened to me, then maybe your settings.json for Docker has been corrupted. To fix:

  • Move %AppData\Docker\settings.json (typically C:\Users\<user_user_profile>\AppData\Roaming\Docker\settings.json) to a safe location for backup
  • Restart Docker Desktop
  • If this corrects the issue for you, you can delete the backed-up settings.json. If not, you can restore it to the previous location.
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  • Good info - Thanks! Note, however, that most users that have this error are experiencing it due to the iptables issue mentioned in the other answer, so I would personally recommend that they try that first. However, this is a great "second step" if that doesn't work. Also, the iptables issue will likely go away over the long-term, as the WSL2 kernel supports nftables. So it's definitely nice to have an alternative cause to look at!
    – NotTheDr01ds
    Oct 28, 2022 at 17:57
  • Also just realized that this question was specific to Docker Engine, whereas your answer is for Docker Desktop. But that's still useful/helpful info for users of Docker Desktop, IMHO.
    – NotTheDr01ds
    Oct 28, 2022 at 17:59

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