Docker Desktop comes to Linux, adds extensions SDK

Docker is extending its popular Docker Desktop application to integrate with a wider range of developer tools, as well as providing native support for developers working on Linux workstations.

Announced today during DockerCon, Docker Extensions is launching with 14 partner integrations: Ambassador, Anchore, AquaSec, EverX, JFrog, Layer5.io, Okteto, Portainer, Red Hat, Snyk, SUSE/Rancher, Tailscale, Uffizzi, and VMware.

Those launch partners can be grouped into three main buckets: simplifying Kubernetes deployment (VMware Tanzu, Okteto, Portainer, Red Hat, Rancher), secure software supply chain (Anchore, AqueSec, JFrog, Snyk), and supporting hybrid development environments (Ambassador, Tailscale, Layer5, Uffizzi).

The wider Docker community will also be able to drive a greater range of extensions in the future using the new Docker Extensions SDK.

“The large, complex cloud-native tools landscape presents a challenge for developers, who need the right tool for the right job, right now,” said Docker CEO Scott Johnston. “Docker Extensions enables developers to quickly discover and start using the tools they need for their apps and not waste time searching, downloading, configuring, evaluating, and managing tools.”

Docker Desktop will also now be available on Linux workstations, with an identical experience to the macOS and Windows applications, allowing enterprise developers to move past the tyranny of what Johnston calls “it works on my machine” finger pointing.

Linux support has been the most requested feature among the Docker community for the past 12 months, according to Johnston, and the company’s recent round of funding has enabled them to push it forward on the roadmap. Docker Desktop for Linux includes Docker Compose, the Docker CLI, and Kubernetes.

Since selling its enterprise business to Mirantis in 2019, Docker has been pushing forward with a strategy of focusing on serving developers building containerized applications, primarily through the Docker Build function, the Docker Engine container runtime, the Hub image repository, and the Docker Desktop application.