How can I run a docker windows container on osx?

See this link: https://forums.docker.com/t/how-do-i-start-a-windows-docker-container-on-my-mac-os-x/12953/2

Text if you can't follow the link:

On OS X, get VirtualBox. Get Windows Server 2016 Tech Preview 5 ISO167 (free download from Microsoft) Create WS 2016 TP5 VM in virtualbox Run this206 in the new VM Now you can run Windows Containers in the VM. To make the setup a little easier to use, see this: https://forums.docker.com/t/windows-server-2016-tp5-docker-server-remote-management/10315/5317


I know I am late to the party but as of 2021, this is the easiest setup to get a windows container running on macOS:

https://github.com/StefanScherer/windows-docker-machine

  1. Install vagrant and virtual box
  2. Clone the repository above and change directory into it
  3. vagrant up --provider virtualbox 2019-box
  4. docker context use 2019-box

I followed this setup and I could use the following windows image

mcr.microsoft.com/windows/servercore:ltsc2019

Please note that the windows version of your host must match the container image. This is mentioned here: https://hub.docker.com/_/microsoft-windows

Windows requires the host OS version to match the container OS version. If you want to run a container based on a newer Windows build, make sure you have an equivalent host build.