Switch between Podman and Docker

Instructions for switching between Podman and Docker as the container management engine for the Astro CLI.

The Astro CLI automatically runs Podman containers whenever you run a command that requires them. You can switch between Podman and Docker as your container management engine to run Astro CLI commands.

Prerequisites

Docker

• Microsoft Hyper-V enabled. See Install Hyper-V On Windows or Step-By-Step: Enabling Hyper-V on Windows 11.
• The latest version of the Windows App Installer.
• Windows 10 1709 (build 16299) or later or Windows 11.

Podman

• Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) 2 enabled: See Enable the Windows Subsystem for Linux, WSL basic commands, and Troubleshooting WSL 2.
  • After you enable WSL, run:
   wsl --update
   wsl --install --no-distribution
  
• Windows 10 or Windows 11.
• A container service like Podman or Docker Engine.

Switch between Podman and Docker

To run CLI commands in Docker containers, run the following command:

astro config set container.binary docker -g

If you need to switch back to using Podman again, run the following command:

astro config set container.binary podman -g

If you want to switch between Docker and Podman on a specific project without changing the global configuration, run these commands without the

-g

.