--- title: Windows 11 can now run Linux containers without Docker,... description: A hands-on test compares Microsoft's new WSL Containers (wslc) preview feature against Docker Desktop on Windows 11. Each wslc container spins up its own... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/windows-11-can-now-run-linux-containers-without-docker-and-i-tested-if-wsl-containers-could-actuall-9aom9secf twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Windows 11 can now run Linux containers without Docker, and I tested if WSL Containers could actually replace it | daily.dev og:description: A hands-on test compares Microsoft's new WSL Containers (wslc) preview feature against Docker Desktop on Windows 11. Each wslc container spins up its own... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/windows-11-can-now-run-linux-containers-without-docker-and-i-tested-if-wsl-containers-could-actuall-9aom9secf og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/9aom9SecF.png og:image:alt: Windows 11 can now run Linux containers without Docker, and I tested if WSL Containers could actually replace it og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: 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. # Windows 11 can now run Linux containers without Docker, and I tested if WSL Containers could actually replace it **[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 6 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary A hands-on test compares Microsoft's new WSL Containers (wslc) preview feature against Docker Desktop on Windows 11. Each wslc container spins up its own private VM (about 1.5GB RAM) rather than sharing WSL's utility VM like Docker Desktop does, and a bug means the VM doesn't terminate automatically, requiring a manual 'wslc system session terminate' command. Startup speed differences between wslc and Docker Desktop turned out to be negligible in testing. CUDA/GPU passthrough with an RTX 5090 worked immediately with a single flag, but wslc lacks --privileged, --device, and --restart flags, and Compose support doesn't officially exist yet despite the underlying networking and volume infrastructure being in place. The verdict: wslc is a solid Docker Desktop replacement for dev containers and GPU work, but lacks visibility tooling and isn't ready for long-running infrastructure use. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What is WSL Containers (wslc) and how is it different from Docker Desktop on Windows? WSL Containers is a preview feature shipped in the latest WSL pre-release that runs Linux OCI containers natively without needing Docker or Podman installed. Unlike Docker Desktop, which runs its engine as a distro inside WSL's shared utility VM, wslc spins up a brand-new private virtual machine for every container session, using about 1.5 GB of RAM each time. _Developers weighing a move off Docker Desktop can track WSL container updates on daily.dev as the feature matures._ ### Does WSL Containers support Docker Compose yet? No, as of version 2.9.3 the wslc compose command does not work; Microsoft has built the underlying networking and volume lifecycle logic but has not shipped the Compose command layer itself. A community-built shim already fills this gap, successfully producing a project-scoped network, ordered container startup, and a deduplicated Alpine base layer, with down -v cleanly removing the stack. _Anyone planning a Compose-based workflow on Windows can follow daily.dev for when Microsoft ships native support._ ### Does GPU acceleration with CUDA work in WSL Containers? Yes, a stock CUDA 12.4 image detected an RTX 5090 immediately using just a --gpus-all flag, with no need to manage drivers inside the container, and it worked even against a CUDA 13.3 host driver. This is GPU paravirtualization rather than exclusive passthrough, so the total VRAM is shared with the Windows desktop and should be budgeted accordingly. _Developers evaluating GPU-accelerated containers on Windows can follow daily.dev for real-world CUDA compatibility reports._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [I switched from Docker Desktop to WSL Containers, and I'm switching back](https://daily.dev/posts/i-switched-from-docker-desktop-to-wsl-containers-and-i-m-switching-back-yhjpx3xud) · XDA Developers · 2 upvotes · 0 comments - [Microsoft Announces Public Preview For Linux Containers On WSL](https://daily.dev/posts/microsoft-announces-public-preview-for-linux-containers-on-wsl-0kzbappo1) · Phoronix · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [WSL container is now available for public preview](https://daily.dev/posts/wsl-container-is-now-available-for-public-preview-qszgs39xw) · Windows Command Line · 110 upvotes · 8 comments --- Tags: [#windows](https://daily.dev/tags/windows), [#docker](https://daily.dev/tags/docker), [#containers](https://daily.dev/tags/containers), [#cuda](https://daily.dev/tags/cuda) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/windows-11-can-now-run-linux-containers-without-docker-and-i-tested-if-wsl-containers-could-actuall-9aom9secf) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Windows 11 can now run Linux containers without Docker, and I tested if WSL Containers could actually replace it","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/windows-11-can-now-run-linux-containers-without-docker-and-i-tested-if-wsl-containers-could-actuall-9aom9secf","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/windows-11-can-now-run-linux-containers-without-docker-and-i-tested-if-wsl-containers-could-actuall-9aom9secf"},"datePublished":"2026-08-15T00:04:54.357Z","dateModified":"2026-09-14T08:45:16.185Z","description":"A hands-on test compares Microsoft's new WSL Containers (wslc) preview feature against Docker Desktop on Windows 11. 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