Download Docker Desktop for Mac

How to tell whether your Mac is Apple Silicon or Intel

Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner and choose About This Mac. Find the line labelled Chip (Apple Silicon) or Processor (Intel). If it reads anything like Apple M1, Apple M2 Pro, Apple M3 Max, or Apple M4, you need the Apple Silicon build. If it says Intel Core i5, Intel Core i7, or any Xeon variant, you need the Intel build.

From a terminal you can also run uname -m: it prints arm64 on Apple Silicon and x86_64 on Intel.

Is Docker Desktop free for Mac?

Yes — the macOS download is the same Docker Desktop and the same licensing as on the other platforms. Free for personal use, education, open-source projects, and small businesses (under 250 employees and under $10M annual revenue). Larger organizations need a paid Docker subscription. There is nothing macOS-specific about the license.

If you are looking for a faster Apple Silicon-specific alternative, OrbStack is worth considering — see Docker Desktop vs OrbStack.

System requirements at a glance

• macOS 13 Ventura, 14 Sonoma, or 15 Sequoia (the three latest majors).
• Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4) or Intel x86_64.
• 4 GB RAM minimum, 8 GB recommended.
• ~6 GB free disk space.
• Rosetta 2 — required on Apple Silicon to run any amd64 images you pull or build under emulation.

The complete Docker Desktop system requirements page includes the matching numbers for Windows and Linux.

Installing the .dmg you downloaded

Double-click Docker.dmg to mount the disk image, drag the Docker icon into /Applications, then launch Docker.app. macOS will warn that the app was downloaded from the internet — click Open. The first launch installs a privileged helper for networking and file sharing, so you’ll be prompted for your password.

The detailed walkthrough — including what to do if the privileged-helper dialog gets stuck in a loop — is on the Install Docker Desktop on Mac page.

Verifying the .dmg signature

After dragging the app into /Applications, open Terminal and confirm the signature:

$ codesign -dv --verbose=4 /Applications/Docker.app
Authority=Developer ID Application: <publisher> (XXXXXXXXXX)
Authority=Developer ID Certification Authority
Authority=Apple Root CA
TeamIdentifier=XXXXXXXXXX

If the Authority line doesn't name the publisher you expected, the file is not the real installer — discard it and re-download from a source you trust.

After install: pulling Apple Silicon-native images

On Apple Silicon, the engine prefers linux/arm64 images and pulls those by default if the registry has them. If an image is x86_64-only, Docker emulates it under Rosetta 2, which works but is slower. To force a specific platform you can pass --platform linux/arm64 on the command line, or set platform: linux/arm64 in your Compose file. The getting-started guide has working examples.

Common Docker Desktop Mac download issues

• “Docker.app can’t be opened because Apple cannot check it for malicious software.” Right-click the app and choose Open, then confirm. macOS Gatekeeper saves the exception so you only do this once.
• Privileged helper prompt loops — see Mac permissions troubleshooting for the clean uninstall + reinstall sequence that fixes it.
• Slow file system performance with bind-mounted node_modules/vendor directories. Switch to VirtioFS in Settings → General → File sharing implementation. It is the default on macOS 13+ and ships in every recent build.