By Brian Fitzgerald
Introduction
This article describes how you can configure your Windows 10 Home to run docker. The approach is:
- Upgrade to Windows 10 Pro.
- Configure your PC for virtualization.
- Make changes to you docker create and run steps.
Download Docker
- Go to docker.com
- Create your Docker ID
- Log in
- Download “Docker for Windows Installer.exe”
- Run the executable and complete the software installation.
Buy the upgrade to Windows 10 Pro
- Go to microsoft.com account.
- Create an account for yourself.
- Add a valid payment method (credit card).
- Press the Windows key.
- In the search bar, enter “activation”.
- In the search results, select Activation system settings.
- Press the Buy button. A browser will take you to the Microsoft Store.
- Buy the upgrade. The cost is $99.00.
Upgrade
- Press Windows key again.
- In the search bar, enter “activation”.
- In the search results, select Activation system settings.
- Press the Install button.
Enable Hyper-V
- Press the Windows key.
- In the search bar, enter “features”.
- In the search results select Turn Windows features on or off.
- Check Hyper-V

Enable Virtualization
- Power cycle the box
- During boot, press the ESC key to get to the Startup Menu

- Press F10 for BIOS Setup
- Navigate to the System Configuration Menu

- Press the Down Arrow to select Virtualization Technology.
- Press F5 or F6 to change the value to Enabled.
- Press F10 to Save and Exit.
Start Docker Service
If prompted, start docker service.
Notes on creating a docker image
Make sure that your application inside the docker image binds to host 0.0.0.0, not 127.0.0.1. For example, if you are using flask, then your Dockerfile contains:
ENTRYPOINT [ "flask" ] CMD [ "run", "--host=0.0.0.0" ]
Example docker image creation:
docker build -t flask-tutorial .
Notes on running a docker image
If you are testing and want to be able to interrupt docker, use the -i and -t flags:
C:\Users\Brian Fitzgerald>docker run -p 5000:5000 -i -t flask-tutorial * Serving Flask app "flaskr" * Environment: production WARNING: This is a development server. Do not use it in a production deployment. Use a production WSGI server instead. * Debug mode: off * Running on http://0.0.0.0:5000/ (Press CTRL+C to quit) ^C
Connect to the application at
http://127.0.0.1:5000/
Conclusion
With modifications, you can run Docker on your home PC.