WSL: docker: command not found inside a WSL distro

Quick fix

Read the commands before running them. Anything that restarts a service, deletes data or changes permissions should be tried on a non-production system first.

# Windows: Docker Desktop -> Settings -> Resources -> WSL Integration
# enable the specific distribution, then Apply & Restart

# Verify from inside WSL
wsl -l -v            # (run in PowerShell) distro must be version 2
docker context ls
docker version

# If the distro is version 1, convert it
# wsl --set-version <distro> 2

How to diagnose Virtualization errors

Virtualisation errors are usually about hardware virtualisation access: either it is disabled in firmware, or another hypervisor already holds it. On Windows, Hyper-V, WSL 2, Docker Desktop, Credential Guard and memory integrity all claim the virtualisation extensions, and VirtualBox or VMware then fails with a message that mentions VT-x but not the actual conflict.

If the quick fix above does not resolve it, work through these steps. They apply to this whole class of error, not just to this one message, which is usually what saves the time.

1. Confirm virtualisation is enabled at the CPU level: grep -E 'vmx|svm' /proc/cpuinfo on Linux, or the Performance tab of Task Manager on Windows.
2. On Windows, check what else is using the hypervisor: bcdedit /enum | findstr hypervisorlaunchtype and whether Hyper-V, WSL 2 or Core Isolation are enabled.
3. On Linux, check /dev/kvm exists and that your user is in the kvm group; nested virtualisation must be enabled explicitly on cloud VMs.
4. Match guest additions and tools versions to the hypervisor version: mismatches cause shared folders, clipboard and display problems that look like guest OS bugs.
5. For WSL, run wsl --status and wsl --update; most WSL 2 errors are a stale kernel or a disabled Virtual Machine Platform feature.

Tools worth reaching for

• grep -E 'vmx|svm' /proc/cpuinfo
• wsl --status
• bcdedit /enum
• ls -l /dev/kvm
• systemctl status libvirtd

Authoritative references

Primary documentation for this error, worth reading before applying any fix in production.

📖 docs.docker.com

Related Virtualization errors

• Hyper-V: Virtual switch not foundThe VM references a virtual switch that doesn't exist. The switch may have been deleted or…
• QEMU/KVM: /dev/kvm not availableKVM kernel module is not loaded or the user doesn't have permission to access /dev/kvm…
• Vagrant: Box not foundThe Vagrant box specified in the Vagrantfile has not been downloaded or the name is incorrect.
• VirtualBox: VT-x is not availableHardware virtualization (VT-x/AMD-V) is disabled in BIOS or being used by another hypervisor…
• VMware: Disk consolidation neededThe VM has orphaned snapshot delta disks that need to be merged back. Usually happens after a…
• WSL 2: Kernel update requiredWSL 2 requires a Linux kernel component update that hasn't been installed yet.
• WSL: Windows Subsystem for Linux is not installedWSL is not enabled on the Windows machine. The Windows feature needs to be installed and…

See all 8 Virtualization errors →

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Something missing or wrong?

This entry is maintained by hand. If the fix is out of date, incomplete, or you have a better one, email a correction and it will be reviewed.