Is Docker Desktop on Ubuntu rootless by default?
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MellowCedar47
I'm running Docker Desktop on Ubuntu and noticed that the rootless option appears under the Docker Engine settings. Does Docker Desktop already run rootless by default because it uses a VM, or do I need to enable or configure rootless mode separately?
Answers
Docker Desktop on Linux runs containers inside a dedicated Linux virtual machine, so the host-side setup isn't quite the same as a normal Docker Engine installation. The rootless setting under Docker Engine mainly applies to the engine configuration inside that environment. In practice, you generally don't need to enable rootless mode just because you're using Docker Desktop.
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It’s also worth separating rootless Docker from running a container as a non-root user. Many setups only need the latter: configure the image or Compose service with an appropriate user, and make sure bind mounts and volumes have matching ownership and permissions. That improves file management, but it isn't identical to rootless Docker and usually isn't needed as a security boundary for every container.
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MellowCedar47: That distinction helps. I was treating root inside the container and rootless Docker as the same thing. I’ll look into configuring the container user and volume permissions first.