---
description:
  Understand how to diagnose and troubleshoot Docker Desktop, and how to
  check the logs.
keywords: Linux, Mac, Windows, troubleshooting, logs, issues, Docker Desktop
toc_max: 2
title: Troubleshoot Docker Desktop
linkTitle: Troubleshoot and diagnose
aliases:
  - /desktop/linux/troubleshoot/
  - /desktop/mac/troubleshoot/
  - /desktop/windows/troubleshoot/
  - /docker-for-mac/troubleshoot/
  - /mackit/troubleshoot/
  - /windows/troubleshoot/
  - /docker-for-win/troubleshoot/
  - /docker-for-windows/troubleshoot/
  - /desktop/troubleshoot/overview/
  - /desktop/troubleshoot/
tags: [Troubleshooting]
weight: 10
---

This page contains information on how to diagnose and troubleshoot Docker Desktop, and how to check the logs.

## Troubleshoot menu

To navigate to **Troubleshoot** either:

- Select the Docker menu Docker menu {{< inline-image src="../../images/whale-x.svg" alt="whale menu" >}} and then **Troubleshoot**.
- Select the **Troubleshoot** icon near the top-right corner of Docker Dashboard.

The **Troubleshooting** menu contains the following options:

- **Restart Docker Desktop**.

- **Reset Kubernetes cluster**. Select to delete all stacks and Kubernetes resources. For more information, see [Kubernetes](/manuals/desktop/settings-and-maintenance/settings.md#kubernetes).

- **Clean / Purge data**. This option resets all Docker data without a
  reset to factory defaults. Selecting this option results in the loss of existing settings.

- **Reset to factory defaults**: Choose this option to reset all options on
  Docker Desktop to their initial state, the same as when Docker Desktop was first installed.

If you are a Mac or Linux user, you also have the option to **Uninstall** Docker Desktop from your system.

## Diagnose

> [!TIP]
>
> If you do not find a solution in troubleshooting, browse the GitHub repositories or create a new issue on the [Docker Desktop issue tracker](https://github.com/docker/desktop-feedback).

### Diagnose from the app

1. From **Troubleshoot**, select **Get support**. This opens the in-app Support page and starts collecting the diagnostics.
   > [!NOTE]
   >
   > Gathering diagnostics may take several minutes. Don't close Docker Desktop while the diagnostics are being collected.
2. When the diagnostics collection process is complete, select **Upload to get a Diagnostic ID**.
3. When the diagnostics are uploaded, Docker Desktop prints a diagnostic ID. Copy this ID.
4. Use your diagnostics ID to get help:
   - If you have a paid Docker subscription, select **Contact support**. This opens the Docker Desktop support form. Fill in the information required and add the ID you copied in step three to the **Diagnostics ID field**. Then, select **Submit ticket** to request Docker Desktop support.
     > [!NOTE]
     >
     > You must be signed in to Docker Desktop to access the support form. For information on what's covered as part of Docker Desktop support, see [Support](/manuals/support/_index.md).
   - If you don't have a paid Docker subscription, select **Report a Bug** to open a new Docker Desktop issue on GitHub. Complete the information required and ensure you add the diagnostic ID you copied in step three.

### Diagnose from an error message

1. When an error message appears, select **Gather diagnostics**.
   > [!NOTE]
   >
   > Gathering diagnostics may take several minutes. Don't close Docker Desktop while the diagnostics are being collected.
2. When the diagnostics are uploaded, Docker Desktop prints a diagnostic ID. Copy this ID.
3. Use your diagnostics ID to get help:
   - If you have a paid Docker subscription, select **Contact support**. This opens the Docker Desktop support form. Fill in the information required and add the ID you copied in step three to the **Diagnostics ID field**. Then, select **Submit ticket** to request Docker Desktop support.
     > [!NOTE]
     >
     > You must be signed in to Docker Desktop to access the support form. For information on what's covered as part of Docker Desktop support, see [Support](/manuals/support/_index.md).
   - If you don't have a paid Docker subscription, you can open a new [Docker Desktop issue on GitHub](https://github.com/docker/desktop-feedback). Complete the information required and ensure you add the diagnostic ID printed in step two.

### Diagnose from the terminal

In some cases, it's useful to run the diagnostics yourself, for instance, if
Docker Desktop cannot start.

> [!NOTE]
>
> Gathering diagnostics may take several minutes. Wait for the process to complete before closing the terminal.

{{< tabs group="os" >}}
{{< tab name="Windows" >}}

1. Locate the `com.docker.diagnose` tool:

   ```console
   $ C:\Program Files\Docker\Docker\resources\com.docker.diagnose.exe
   ```

2. Create and upload the diagnostics ID. In PowerShell, run:

   ```console
   $ & "C:\Program Files\Docker\Docker\resources\com.docker.diagnose.exe" gather -upload
   ```

After the diagnostics have finished, the terminal displays your diagnostics ID and the path to the diagnostics file. The diagnostics ID is composed of your user ID and a timestamp. For example `BE9AFAAF-F68B-41D0-9D12-84760E6B8740/20190905152051`.

{{< /tab >}}
{{< tab name="Mac" >}}

1. Locate the `com.docker.diagnose` tool:

   ```console
   $ /Applications/Docker.app/Contents/MacOS/com.docker.diagnose
   ```

2. Create and upload the diagnostics ID. Run:

   ```console
   $ /Applications/Docker.app/Contents/MacOS/com.docker.diagnose gather -upload
   ```

After the diagnostics have finished, the terminal displays your diagnostics ID and the path to the diagnostics file. The diagnostics ID is composed of your user ID and a timestamp. For example `BE9AFAAF-F68B-41D0-9D12-84760E6B8740/20190905152051`.

{{< /tab >}}
{{< tab name="Linux" >}}

1. Locate the `com.docker.diagnose` tool:

   ```console
   $ /opt/docker-desktop/bin/com.docker.diagnose
   ```

2. Create and upload the diagnostics ID. Run:

   ```console
   $ /opt/docker-desktop/bin/com.docker.diagnose gather -upload
   ```

After the diagnostics have finished, the terminal displays your diagnostics ID and the path to the diagnostics file. The diagnostics ID is composed of your user ID and a timestamp. For example `BE9AFAAF-F68B-41D0-9D12-84760E6B8740/20190905152051`.

{{< /tab >}}
{{< /tabs >}}

> [!TIP]
>
> You can also use the [`docker desktop diagnose` command](/manuals/desktop/features/desktop-cli.md) to diagnose Docker Desktop and upload the diagnostics ID.

To view the contents of the diagnostic file:

{{< tabs group="os" >}}
{{< tab name="Windows" >}}

1. Unzip the file. In PowerShell, copy and paste the path to the diagnostics file into the following command and then run it. It should be similar to the following example:

   ```powershell
   $ Expand-Archive -LiteralPath "C:\Users\testUser\AppData\Local\Temp\5DE9978A-3848-429E-8776-950FC869186F\20230607101602.zip" -DestinationPath "C:\Users\testuser\AppData\Local\Temp\5DE9978A-3848-429E-8776-950FC869186F\20230607101602"
   ```

2. Open the file in your preferred text editor. Run:

   ```powershell
   $ code <path-to-file>
   ```

{{< /tab >}}
{{< tab name="Mac" >}}

Run:

```console
$ open /tmp/<your-diagnostics-ID>.zip
```

{{< /tab >}}
{{< tab name="Linux" >}}

Run:

```console
$ unzip –l /tmp/<your-diagnostics-ID>.zip
```

{{< /tab >}}
{{< /tabs >}}

#### Use your diagnostics ID to get help

If you have a paid Docker subscription, select **Contact support**. This opens the Docker Desktop support form. Fill in the information required and add the ID you copied in step three to the **Diagnostics ID field**. Then, select **Submit ticket** to request Docker Desktop support.

If you don't have a paid Docker subscription, create an issue on [GitHub](https://github.com/docker/desktop-feedback).

### Self-diagnose tool

> [!IMPORTANT]
>
> This tool has been deprecated.

## Check the logs

In addition to using the diagnose option to submit logs, you can browse the logs yourself.

{{< tabs group="os" >}}
{{< tab name="Windows" >}}

In PowerShell, run:

```powershell
$ code $Env:LOCALAPPDATA\Docker\log
```

This opens up all the logs in your preferred text editor for you to explore.

{{< /tab >}}
{{< tab name="Mac" >}}

### From terminal

To watch the live flow of Docker Desktop logs in the command line, run the following script from your preferred shell.

```console
$ pred='process matches ".*(ocker|vpnkit).*" || (process in {"taskgated-helper", "launchservicesd", "kernel"} && eventMessage contains[c] "docker")'
$ /usr/bin/log stream --style syslog --level=debug --color=always --predicate "$pred"
```

Alternatively, to collect the last day of logs (`1d`) in a file, run:

```console
$ /usr/bin/log show --debug --info --style syslog --last 1d --predicate "$pred" >/tmp/logs.txt
```

### From the Console app

Mac provides a built-in log viewer, named **Console**, which you can use to check
Docker logs.

The Console lives in `/Applications/Utilities`. You can search for it with
Spotlight Search.

To read the Docker app log messages, type `docker` in the Console window search bar and press Enter. Then select `ANY` to expand the drop-down list next to your `docker` search entry, and select `Process`.

![Mac Console search for Docker app](../../images/console.png)

You can use the Console Log Query to search logs, filter the results in various
ways, and create reports.

{{< /tab >}}
{{< tab name="Linux" >}}

You can access Docker Desktop logs by running the following command:

```console
$ journalctl --user --unit=docker-desktop
```

You can also find the logs for the internal components included in Docker
Desktop at `$HOME/.docker/desktop/log/`.

{{< /tab >}}
{{< /tabs >}}

## View the Docker daemon logs

Refer to the [Read the daemon logs](/manuals/engine/daemon/logs.md) section
to learn how to view the Docker Daemon logs.

## Further resources

- View specific [troubleshoot topics](topics.md).
- View information on [known issues](known-issues.md)
- [Fix "Docker.app is damaged" on macOS](mac-damaged-dialog.md) - Resolve macOS installation issues
- [Get support for Docker products](/manuals/support/_index.md)
