How to fix the error "`docker daemon` is not supported on Darwin. Please run `dockerd` directly"

I am using OS X El Capitan and have installed latest version of Docker available for Mac (Docker version 1.12.0, build 8eab29e, experimental).

Expected behavior
docker daemon or dockerd should work

Actual behavior
$ docker daemon
docker daemon is not supported on Darwin. Please run dockerd directly
$ dockerd
-bash: dockerd: command not found

Information

  • the output of:
    • Moby Menu > Diagnose & Feedback on OSX

Docker for Mac: version: win-beta-v1.12.0-rc5-beta21-68-g5b59d37
OS X: version 10.11.6 (build: 15G31)
logs: /tmp/E426DD41-4FEA-43DF-8F57-72380B6E458D/20160802-110604.tar.gz
[OK] docker-cli
[OK] app
[OK] moby-syslog
[OK] disk
[OK] virtualization
[OK] system
[OK] menubar
[OK] osxfs
[OK] db
[OK] slirp
[OK] moby-console
[OK] logs
[OK] vmnetd
[OK] env
[OK] moby
[OK] driver.amd64-linux

  • host distribution and version ( OSX 10.10.x, OSX 10.11.x, Windows, etc )
    OS X El Capitan (10.11.6)

Can you please help?

Do you have unset docker-machine env variables?

See: https://docs.docker.com/docker-for-mac/docker-toolbox/#setting-up-to-run-docker-for-mac

Yes, I don’t have any ENV variables set for docker (the command “env | grep DOCKER” shows no output). So, my problem remains unresolved :frowning:

I had the same issues same version of OS X and been baffled on why I can’t access dockerd

Hi guys,

have you found a solution for this problem? I cannot find anywhere the dockerd executable. How am I supposed to start the daemon when having only a command line? I have installed the Docker.App to /Applications but I am running in headless mode and have only access to ssh to my Mac machine.

Any ideas?

Hi All,

I am quite new to Docker and using macOS Sierra.

While trying to configure the tcp and Unix socket on unencrypted port 2375, getting “dockerd” not found and docker daemon not supported .

Saw this thread…

Any solution to this problem…

Thanks
Milind

Because I had this error just now (October, 2017), but this thread was the first hit on the search engines when I searched for it, I thought it would be a good idea to return to this thread to answer the question.

The official Docker.app download doesn’t have this problem, but you will get it if you use homebrew’s docker (brew install docker). The solution in this case is to install docker-machine, or boot2docker. Boot2docker is deprecated, so I used docker-machine

brew install docker-machine
docker-machine create
docker-machine env
$(docker-machine env default)

This last line is needed in any shell that needs to interact with docker tools.

This fixed it up for me, and hopefully other folks who run in to this error.

cheers,
dylan