Configure Docker Desktop Enterprise on Windows

This page contains information on how system administrators can configure Docker Desktop Enterprise (DDE) settings, specify and lock configuration parameters to create a standardized development environment on Windows operating systems.

Environment configuration (administrators only)

The administrator configuration file allows you to customize and standardize your Docker Desktop environment across the organization.

When you install Docker Desktop Enterprise, a configuration file with default values is installed at the following location. Do not change the location of the admin-settings.json file.

%ProgramData%\DockerDesktop\admin-settings.json

which defaults to:

C:\ProgramData\DockerDesktop\admin-settings.json

You must have administrator access privileges to edit admin-settings.json.

Syntax for admin-settings.json

1. configurationFileVersion: This must be the first parameter listed in admin-settings.json. It specifies the version of the configuration file format and must not be changed.

2. A nested list of configuration parameters, each of which contains a minimum of the following two settings:

• locked: If set to true, users without elevated access privileges are not able to edit this setting from the UI or by directly editing the settings.json file (the settings.json file stores the user’s preferences). If set to false, users without elevated access privileges can change this setting from the UI or by directly editing settings.json. If this setting is omitted, the default value is `false’.

• value: Specifies the value of the parameter. Docker Desktop Enterprise uses the value when first started and after a reset to factory defaults. If this setting is omitted, a default value that is built into the application is used.

Parameters and settings

The following admin-settings.json code and table provide the required syntax and descriptions for parameters and values:

{
  "configurationFileVersion": 2,
  "engine": {
    "locked": false,
    "value": "linux"
  },
  "analyticsEnabled": {
    "locked": false,
    "value": false
  },
  "exposeDockerAPIOnTCP2375": {
    "locked": false,
    "value": false
  },
  "dockerCliOptions": {
    "stackOrchestrator": {
      "locked": false,
      "value": "swarm"
    }
  },
  "proxy": {
    "locked": false,
    "value": {
      "http": "http://proxy.docker.com:8080",
      "https": "https://proxy.docker.com:8080",
      "exclude": "docker.com,github.com"
    }
  },
  "linuxVM": {
    "cpus": {
      "locked": false,
      "value": 2
    },
    "memoryMiB": {
      "locked": false,
      "value": 2048
    },
    "swapMiB": {
      "locked": false,
      "value": 1024
    },
    "dataFolder": {
      "locked": false,
      "value": null
    },
    "diskSizeMiB": {
      "locked": false,
      "value": 65536
    },
    "hypervCIDR": {
      "locked": false,
      "value": "10.0.75.0/28"
    },
    "vpnkitCIDR": {
      "locked": false,
      "value": "192.168.65.0/28"
    },
    "useDnsForwarder": {
      "locked": false,
      "value": true
    },
    "dns": {
      "locked": false,
      "value": "8.8.8.8"
    },
    "dockerDaemonOptions": {
      "experimental": {
        "locked": false,
        "value": true
      }
    }
  },
  "windows": {
    "dockerDaemonOptions": {
      "experimental": {
        "locked": false,
        "value": true
      }
    }
  },
  "kubernetes": {
    "enabled": {
      "locked": false,
      "value": false
    },
    "showSystemContainers": {
      "locked": false,
      "value": false
    },
    "podNetworkCIDR": {
      "locked": false,
      "value": null
    },
    "serviceCIDR": {
      "locked": false,
      "value": null
    }
  },
  "template": {
    "defaultOrg": {
      "value": "myorg",
      "locked": true
    },
    "defaultRegistry": {
      "value": "mydtr:5000",
      "locked": true
    },
    "repositories": {
      "value": [
        "https://one/library.yaml",
        "https://two/library.yaml",
        "https://three/library.yaml"
      ],
      "locked": true
    }
  },
  "filesharingDirectories": {
    "locked": false,
    "value": [
      "%USERPROFILE%"
    ]
  }
}

Parameter values and descriptions for environment configuration on Windows:

File format update

From version 1 to 2

Docker Desktop Enterprise 2.3.0.0-ent contains a change in the configuration file format.

If you haven’t made any changes to the admin-settings.json file in the previous installation, you can simply delete it and Docker Desktop will re-create it automatically. Otherwise manual steps are required to update the admin-settings.json file.

1. Increase the value of the configurationFileVersion field from 1 to 2, i.e. before:

   {
      "configurationFileVersion": 1,
      ...
   }
   

   after:

   {
      "configurationFileVersion": 2,
      ...
   }
   

2. Replace the sharedDrives and sharedFolders fields with a single filesharingDirectories field, e.g. before:

   {
      ...
      "sharedDrives": {
        "locked": true,
        "value": ["C"]
      },
      "sharedFolders": ["%USERPROFILE%"]
   }
   

   after:

   {
      ...
      "filesharingDirectories": {
        "locked": true,
        "value": ["C:", "%USERPROFILE%"]
      }
   }