Since we had discussions about Play With Docker on the forum recently, which shows that the community is still using it, I would like to inform you that hosted services will be discontinued on March 1, 2026 — about 10 years after the initial commit.
Play With Docker (a.k.a. PWD) was once the best way to test Docker commands online without installing Docker locally. Docker based their tutorials on it and it was popular during Docker courses. Until 2017/2018, it was very actively developed, which then slowed down over the years.
Later, the getting started guide was based on Docker Desktop and new PWD alternatives like Iximiuz showed up — and Google’s Cloud Shell also let you “play with Docker”, try out commands and temporarily access containerized services from a web browser for free.
Docker also has a new project called “Labspace”:
which you can use as a learning lab for workshops and demos, as also mentioned in the description of the Labspace Docker Desktop extension:
For just trying out Docker online anywhere, Iximiuz and Google Cloud Shell, could be an obvious choice, while learners, who can install Docker Desktop would likely want to take a look at the “Labspaces” Docker Desktop extension. More advanced users and training creators might want to try the Labspaces GitHub repository and follow the instructions in the documentation linked in the README.
These are great alternatives, but older Docker tutorials based on PWD may need to be updated.
While migrating your tutorials, or trying to learn about new alternatives just for learning about Docker, the community is here to help you.