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Recently had trouble with Docker Desktop recent com.docker.vmnetd issue, uninstalled Docker, and installed version 4.37.2.
When I try to run Docker Desktop now:
How can I debug this? Haven’t had trouble with Docker before, and need to get it going for work! 
Thank you!
(Apple M3 Pro, Sonoma 14.4)
How do you try to start Docker Desktop? Have you tried if docker commands work and only the GUI is hidden? Also do you se the Docker icon at the top of the screen after starting Docker Desktop?
Yes, I have the same issue. I have MacOs with M3 chip
I’ve launched from application window and autolanunched from startup. Same issue. It’s in the activity monitor but can’t see the app
I’m starting it via the OS UI… (double click).
It never changes focus or modifies anything on the screen. No docker icon in the toolbar.
I wiped out my old docker / instances, so I’m not sure what I should try testing via the CLI, but I do get output when I run docker --help for example.
I wish I hadn’t wiped my docker data trying to solve this and found the docs about just upgrading Docker! I have to admit that I panicked when I was suddenly getting OS popups every 10 seconds and couldn’t get anything done!
(Also forgot to mention Apple M3 Pro, Sonoma 14.4)
Also experiencing this. On Macbook pro M2, Sequoia 15.2. When starting the Docker app for the first time, the window usually appears, but sometime thereafter it’s gone, along with the icon in the taskbar. When I go in to Activity Monitor, the docker processes are still running, as well as my containers.
If I ‘cmd+tab’ through my open apps in MacOS, the Docker app icon is not showing in the list.
If I try running the Docker desktop app again through Spotlight or by double-clicking the app icon in Finder, nothing happens.
The only way I can get it to appear again is to manually quit the docker processes in Activity Monitor.
I’ve tried uninstalling, rebooting, and installing again. Same issue.
Any idea of what I should try next? Stumped!!!
You can try docker desktop status and docker desktop start hoping one of these commands show something useful, but I’m afraid I don’t have many ideas about these issues as I can’t reproruce them on my Mac 15.2 (M1).
You can report it on GitHub as bug. GitHub - docker/for-mac: Bug reports for Docker Desktop for Mac
Before you open a new issue try checking other issues. Maybe someone mentions a similar problem.
Hi all
I have a Mac user who is on MacOS 14.6.1 (Sonoma) using an Intel Chip (Core i7) we had removed the previous version of Docker that gave the com.docker.vmnetd issue and installed the latest version 4.37.2
However whenever we start the app it appears to show it is running via activity manager but we cannot see anything on the screen not even on the top of the screen on the bar, we kill off the app and try again still the same issue. We have removed the app using commands and deleted any left over files and folders, installed the homebrew version as well but still getting the same issue the app just refuses to start correctly.
Can anyone suggest what else we can try?
Thanks
Hello I’m a Mac User and I was experiencing malware detection issues. I followed the instructions of the official website of docker, deinstalled the software and deleted everything.
But then I installed it again and now it won’t even start. By doubleclicking it’s not doing anything. I tried to install the older version, but it is the same.
Can anyone help? Is it just a problem I have or is anybody else struggling with the same problem?
I’m a student and I need some. help with it, I can’t move on with my stuff if I won’t solve this problem.
Hope there is someone who can help. Thanks in advance!
I merged the topics created by @s2410238038 and @softguy159 to this one as it seems all of you had the malware issue before. My first suggestion is check the this page in the documentation first
If you did everything, then as I suggested in my previous post
Hi all!
In the meantime I got the following info from Docker:
The issue when Docker Desktop cannot start properly on machines where you got the malware warning previously, the solution is usually restarting the Mac, since there are already running services which need a restart to use the new binaries properly and this is the easiest way to solve it.
Have you restarted macOS?
I’ve restarted many times.
Thank you for following up!
Hi
I have restarted many times as well and still getting the same issue.
Thanks
Hi,
I am in the same issue like you guys, Sequoia 15.2 and Apple M3
I have been facing the malware problems, i followed the workaround uninstalling everything and the commands for wrong services to update to 4.37 and now i can’t even open docker desktop, mac says ‘Docker Desktop not responding’.
WOW
I am also facing the same issue, after I started receiving the malware warning, I tried to uninstall and install the latest version of docker but after docker desktop stopped from showing up.
I tried reinstalling docker multiple times on my Mac M3 sonoma but there was no success and I’d restarted it multiple times as well.
Also even factory reset my mac but after installing the docker, the problem persists.
UPDATE: I was able to fix it by uninstalling the docker installed from web and instead installing it via homebrew.
Hey all
My user had managed to get this working, we had followed the steps here: Fix startup issue for Mac | Docker Docs
Ran the MDM script to move all traces of Docker, re-installed and then set the permissions for the user to be the owner of those directories due to us having multiple accounts on the Mac followed by reboots.
Hopefully this helps someone else. 
These two commands in the MDM script seemed to have solved it for me:
sudo cp /Applications/Docker.app/Contents/Library/LaunchServices/com.docker.vmnetd /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/
sudo cp /Applications/Docker.app/Contents/MacOS/com.docker.socket /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/
this fixed things for me, too!
brew --cask reinstallthank you!
this is the way – thank you!
Docker really messed up with the documentation here.
I can confirm that after you successfully install and get the UI not starting running the following commands to copy back the files that the guide tells you to delete (and conventiently doesn’t tell you to replace)
sudo cp /Applications/Docker.app/Contents/Library/LaunchServices/com.docker.vmnetd /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/
sudo cp /Applications/Docker.app/Contents/MacOS/com.docker.socket /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/