podman-desktop/website/docs/migrating-from-docker/using-the-docker_host-environment-variable.md

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2	Using the `DOCKER_HOST` environment variable	Using the `DOCKER_HOST` environment variable can make it easier to migrate from Docker to Podman Desktop, as it allows you to continue using familiar Docker commands while taking advantage of the benefits of Podman.	podman desktop podman containers docker_host environment variable	migrating-from-docker

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Using the DOCKER_HOST environment variable

Consider using the DOCKER_HOST environment variable to migrate transparently from Docker to Podman Desktop on all platforms.

• Continue using familiar Docker commands.
• Take advantage of the benefits of Podman.
• Your tools, such as Gradle or Testcontainers, communicate with Podman without reconfiguration.

Prerequisites

• Podman

Procedure

1. Identify the location of your Podman pipe

$ podman machine inspect --format '{{.ConnectionInfo.PodmanPipe.Path}}'

2. Set the DOCKER_HOST environment variable to your Podman pipe location. You'll need to replace back slashes with forward slashes and add the npipe:// scheme to the path retrieved previously:

Example:

prefixpodman-pipe

npipe:////./pipe/podman-machine-default

Depending on your terminal emulator of preference there is a little variation between the commands to set a session level environment variable:

cmd - Command Prompt

set DOCKER_HOST=npipe://<inspect_command_output>

Git Bash

export DOCKER_HOST=npipe://<inspect_command_output>

Powershell

Don't miss the quotes on the value or powershell will try to interpret it as a separate command instead of a value.

$env:DOCKER_HOST="npipe://<inspect_command_output>"

Ideally you should set DOCKER_HOST at the system or user level environment variables (or even load it in your CL emulator init script of choice)

Note: Setting the DOCKER_HOST environment variable isn't necessary on Windows since Podman also listens to the default docker_engine pipe. But it may be necessary if you get the following error: Error: socket of machine is not set while trying to use the podman compose command.

1. Identify the location of your Podman socket

$ podman machine inspect --format '{{.ConnectionInfo.PodmanSocket.Path}}'

2. Set the DOCKER_HOST environment variable to your Podman socket location. Be sure to add the unix:// scheme to the path retrieved previously:

$ export DOCKER_HOST=unix://<your_podman_socket_location>

1. Identify the location of your Podman socket

$ podman info --format '{{.Host.RemoteSocket.Path}}'

2. Set the DOCKER_HOST environment variable to your Podman socket location. Be sure to add the unix:// scheme to the path retrieved previously:

$ export DOCKER_HOST=unix://<your_podman_socket_location>

Verification

• Your tools using the DOCKER_HOST environment variable, such as Gradle or Testcontainers, communicate with Podman without reconfiguration.