Install Docker

Set up Docker on Windows, macOS or Linux and check that it works, before you install OpticWatch.

OpticWatch needs two things from Docker: Docker itself, which runs OpticWatch's programs, and Docker Compose, which starts them all together with one command. How you get them depends on your operating system:

Docker Desktop is Docker's app for Windows and macOS. It includes everything OpticWatch needs.
Docker Engine is Docker for Linux, usually a server. It runs in the background with no app window, and you add the Compose plugin to it.

This page tells you what to install, links to Docker's official instructions, and shows how to confirm it works. You type the check commands into a terminal: a window where you type commands instead of clicking. Each section below shows how to open it.

Install Docker for your system

On Windows you install Docker Desktop. It includes Docker and Docker Compose, and runs them using WSL 2, the Windows Subsystem for Linux.

A 64-bit Intel or AMD PC is the tested target. Docker offers Docker Desktop for Windows on Arm in early access, but OpticWatch 1.2.0 is an x86-64 build and has not been tested on Windows on Arm. See ARM computers.
Hardware virtualization must be turned on in the computer's BIOS or UEFI settings. It usually is on modern PCs.
Docker lists the supported Windows 10 and 11 versions and hardware on its installation page. Check them before you start.

Install Docker Desktop
Follow Install Docker Desktop on Windows (opens in a new tab) on Docker's site. Keep the recommended WSL 2 option. If the installer asks you to restart Windows, do.
Start Docker Desktop
Open Docker Desktop from the Start menu and wait until it reports that the engine is running. Docker commands only work while Docker Desktop is running.
Open PowerShell
Open the Start menu, type PowerShell and open Windows PowerShell. This is the window you type commands into. Open it after installing Docker, so it can find the new commands.
Check that Docker works
Type each command and press Enter. Each one prints a version number.
PowerShell
```
docker --version
docker compose version
```

On a Mac you install Docker Desktop, which includes Docker and Docker Compose.

Install Docker Desktop for Mac
Follow Install Docker Desktop on Mac (opens in a new tab) and download the version for your Mac's chip (Intel chip for an Intel Mac). Docker supports the current and two previous major macOS releases.
Start Docker Desktop
Open Docker from your Applications folder and wait until it reports that the engine is running. Docker commands only work while Docker Desktop is running.
Open Terminal
Open Terminal from Applications, then Utilities (or press Command-Space and type Terminal). This is the window you type commands into.
Check that Docker works
Type each command and press Return. Each one prints a version number.
Terminal
```
docker --version
docker compose version
```

On Linux you install two parts from Docker's own package repository:

Docker Engine, the service that runs OpticWatch's programs in the background.
The Docker Compose plugin, which adds the docker compose command that starts OpticWatch from its docker-compose.yml file.

OpticWatch needs Docker Engine 24 or newer. Docker's instructions install current versions of both parts together.

Install Docker Engine and the Compose plugin
Follow Docker's guide for your distribution:
Use the repository method these guides describe. Docker notes that its quick “convenience script” is not recommended for production servers.
Check that Docker works
Open a terminal and run:
Terminal
```
docker --version
docker compose version
```
Each prints a version number. Docker's guides finish with a test you can also run: sudo docker run hello-world.

If you see “permission denied”

On Linux, Docker commands need administrator rights. If a command fails with permission denied while connecting to the Docker daemon, you have two choices:

Put sudo in front of each Docker command, for example sudo docker compose up -d. This is the simplest and changes nothing on the system.
Or follow Docker's post-installation steps (opens in a new tab) to let your user run Docker without sudo. Docker warns that membership of the docker group grants root-level privileges, so only add users you would trust with full control of the server.

The commands in these guides are written without sudo. Add it if your user is not in the docker group.

Make sure it is the Compose plugin

OpticWatch uses docker compose, with a space. Some older guides use a separate program called docker-compose, with a hyphen, which is not what OpticWatch needs. If docker compose version prints an error such as 'compose' is not a docker command, the plugin is missing: on Windows and macOS, update Docker Desktop; on Linux, install the Compose plugin following Docker's guide for your distribution, or Install the Docker Compose plugin (opens in a new tab). Docker's Docker Compose installation overview (opens in a new tab) covers every platform.

When both commands print a version, Docker is ready. Install OpticWatch.

Install Docker for your system

If you see “permission denied”

Make sure it is the Compose plugin

Next