Docker's engineering lead reveals that Docker Desktop has been using microVM technology since 2016, originating from the acquisition of Unikernel Systems. The article traces how unikernels—minimal VMs bundling only the kernel code an app needs—were combined with Linux containers to form the foundation of Docker for Mac.
Background
Docker Desktop for Mac and Windows runs Linux containers inside a lightweight virtual machine, a design choice driven by the lack of native Linux kernel support on those platforms. The underlying tech traces back to Docker's 2016 acquisition of Unikernel Systems.
- Source
- Lobsters
- Published
- Nov 10, 2026 at 06:29 AM
- Score
- 6.0 / 10