If you prefer Desktop's dashboard, it integrates with WSL2 6 rather than replacing it (not run here; this summary follows Docker 514 's WSL documentation). Desktop requires WSL 2.1.5 or later and runs its daemon in its own docker-desktop distribution. Under Settings > Resources > WSL Integration you tick the distributions that should see it; Desktop then places its docker CLI and plugins in each ticked distribution and points them at its daemon through a socket proxy. The default distribution is integrated automatically.
The hard rule is not to mix the setups: Docker's documentation says to uninstall any Engine or CLI installed inside a WSL distribution before enabling integration, or images and containers seem to vanish depending on which daemon a command reaches. If you want Desktop on this machine, either remove Engine from Ubuntu-26.04 first (sudo apt purge docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin, after backing up volumes as in Leaving Docker Desktop) or enable integration only for a different distribution.
| Question | Engine in WSL2 (this book) | Desktop with WSL integration |
|---|---|---|
| Where dockerd runs | Your Ubuntu 225 distribution | The docker-desktop distribution |
| Configured with | daemon.json, systemctl | Desktop's Settings (Docker Engine tab) |
| Updates | apt upgrade | Desktop's updater |
| Kubernetes 5,150 | kind or k3d | Built-in, one click |
| Cost at work | Free | Paid above the thresholds of 4.4.2 |