← ClaudeAtlas

docker-via-wsllisted

Use when YOU (the AI agent) are running on Windows OUTSIDE WSL (Git Bash/MSYS/PowerShell shell) and need to run ANY docker / docker compose command. Docker Desktop runs on the WSL2 engine, so commands must be re-issued INSIDE WSL via wsl.exe -- running them from the Windows shell on a network/SMB drive (Z:, UNC) corrupts bind-mount paths. Does NOT apply if your shell is already inside WSL. Triggers on: docker, docker compose, docker-compose, container, bind mount, volume, 'is a directory', mount source wrong, Windows + Docker Desktop, WSL.
netresearch/docker-development-skill · ★ 20 · DevOps & Infrastructure · score 74
Install: claude install-skill netresearch/docker-development-skill
# Docker via WSL (Windows) ## When this applies This applies when **you, the AI agent, are running on a Windows host and your shell is OUTSIDE WSL** -- your Bash tool is Git Bash/MSYS (`uname -s` shows `MINGW64…`/`MSYS…`) or you are in PowerShell/cmd. The `docker` binary there talks to Docker Desktop, but the daemon and its filesystem live in WSL2, so you must run commands inside WSL via `wsl.exe`. If your shell is **already inside WSL** (`uname -s` shows `Linux`, native path `/home/<user>/...`), this skill does **not** apply -- run `docker` directly. ## The problem On Windows, Docker Desktop's daemon runs **inside the WSL2 VM**. Issue **every `docker` command** -- `run`, `build`, `exec`, `pull`, `push`, `volume`, `network`, `inspect`, `compose`, … -- **from inside WSL**, against a **native Linux path**. Never from a Windows shell (Git Bash/MSYS/PowerShell), especially on a mapped network/SMB drive (`Z:`, UNC `\\host\share`). ## Why it matters Driving Docker from a Windows shell whose CWD is on a network share forces Docker Desktop to translate the Windows bind path (e.g. `Z:\proj\config`) into a VM path. On SMB/UNC drives this is unreliable: it can **duplicate a path segment** (e.g. `…/user/user/proj/config`), so Docker mounts a **wrong, empty directory** and **auto-creates the missing bind source as an empty directory**. A file the container expects (`init.sql`, a config file) then appears as a **directory** -> `could not read from input file: Is a directory`. Your e