Docker Cookbook

1.7 Using Boot2Docker to Get a Docker Host on OS X
Problem
The Docker daemon is not supported on OS X, but you want to use the Docker client
seamlessly on your OS X host.
Solution
Use the 
Boot2Docker
 lightweight Linux distribution. Boot2Docker is based on Tiny
Core Linux and configured specifically to act as a Docker host. After installation, a
boot2docker
command will be available to you. You will use it to interact with a vir‐
tual machine started through VirtualBox that will act as a Docker host. The Docker
client—which runs on OS X, unlike the daemon—will be set up on your local OS X
machine.
Let’s start by downloading and installing Boot2Docker. Go to the 
site
 where you will
find several download links. From the release 
page
, grab the latest release. Once the
download is finished, launch the installer shown in 
Figure 1-2
.
1.7 Using Boot2Docker to Get a Docker Host on OS X | 9

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Figure 1-2. Boot2Docker installer wizard
Once the installation is finished (
Figure 1-3
), you are ready to use Boot2Docker.
In a terminal window, type 
boot2docker
at the prompt, and you should see the usage
options. You can also check the version number that you installed:
$ boot2docker
Usage: boot2docker [] {help|init|up|ssh|save|down|poweroff|reset|
restart|config|status|info|ip|shellinit|delete|
download|upgrade|version} []
$ boot2docker version
Boot2Docker-cli version: v1.3.2
Git commit: e41a9ae
10 | Chapter 1: Getting Started with Docker
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Figure 1-3. Boot2Docker installer completion
With Boot2Docker installed, the first step is to initialize it. If you have not downloa‐
ded the Boot2Docker ISO, this step will do so and create the virtual machine in Vir‐
tualBox:
$ boot2docker init
Latest release for boot2docker/boot2docker is v1.3.2
Downloading boot2docker ISO image...
Success:
downloaded https://github.com/boot2docker/boot2docker/releases/download/\
v1.3.2/boot2docker.iso
to /Users/sebgoa/.boot2docker/boot2docker.iso
As you can see, the ISO will be located in your home directory under 
.boot2docker/
boot2docker.iso
. When you open the VirtualBox UI, you will see the boot2docker VM
in a powered-off state (see 
Figure 1-4
).