--- title: "Docker Desktop Gets a Hypervisor of its Own" url: https://daily.dev/posts/docker-desktop-gets-a-hypervisor-of-its-own-mfmkt31im source_url: https://cloudnativenow.com/features/docker-desktop-gets-a-hypervisor-of-its-own type: article source: "Container Journal" published: 2026-08-13T18:45:58.059Z updated: 2026-08-19T23:09:05.182Z tags: ["infrastructure", "docker", "containers"] reading_time: 4 upvotes: 0 comments: 0 language: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Docker Desktop Gets a Hypervisor of its Own **[Container Journal](https://daily.dev/sources/container_journal)** · 4 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Docker Desktop is introducing a new proprietary virtual machine manager (Docker VMM) built in-house to replace the mix of third-party virtualization backends—libkrun on macOS, Hyper-V/WSL on Windows, and KVM/QEMU on Linux. The unified layer aims to eliminate cross-platform inconsistencies, speeding up startup times, recovery, I/O performance, and memory reclamation when containers sit idle. Docker VMM is available now in beta with Docker Desktop v4.86 for Windows and macOS, with Linux support arriving at general availability, expected in October. Docker previously tested the technology internally on Docker Sandboxes, an isolated environment for AI agents. According to Docker's 2025 State of Application Development report, 36% of development still happens on local machines, with Linux (53%), macOS (51%), and Windows (47%) all seeing significant local usage. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What is Docker VMM and how is it different from Docker Desktop's current virtualization setup? Docker VMM is a new virtual machine manager built internally by Docker to replace the separate third-party backends Docker Desktop previously relied on: libkrun on macOS, Hyper-V or WSL on Windows, and KVM/QEMU on Linux. Owning the full stack lets Docker tune performance specifically for container workloads, improving startup times, recovery, I/O, and memory efficiency across platforms. _Track how Docker VMM changes local container performance on daily.dev before rolling it out to your team._ ### Which Docker Desktop version includes the Docker VMM beta and which platforms support it? Docker VMM is available in beta starting with Docker Desktop v4.86 on Windows and macOS. Linux support is planned for general availability, expected in October, since the Linux edition still runs on KVM and QEMU in the meantime. _Developers testing Docker Desktop betas can follow VMM's rollout progress on daily.dev._ ### What percentage of developers still run Docker on local machines instead of cloud environments? About 36% of Docker development is still done on local machines like laptops, according to Docker's 2025 State of Application Development report. Among those local users, platform usage splits fairly evenly: Linux at 53%, macOS at 51%, and Windows at 47%, with the totals exceeding 100% since many developers use multiple platforms. _Anyone weighing local versus cloud dev environments can find usage trends like this on daily.dev._ --- Tags: [#infrastructure](https://daily.dev/tags/infrastructure), [#docker](https://daily.dev/tags/docker), [#containers](https://daily.dev/tags/containers) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/docker-desktop-gets-a-hypervisor-of-its-own-mfmkt31im)