Key features of the Docker Desktop 4.37 release include: 

• Directly access the AI Catalog in Docker Hub through Docker Desktop
• Perform key operations, such as starting, stopping, and checking the status of Docker Desktop directly from the command line
• Component upgrades
• Bug fixes and stability improvements

The Docker Desktop 4.37 release brings incremental improvements that make developers’ lives easier by addressing common challenges in modern software development. With a focus on integrating AI resources and streamlining operational workflows, this update ensures developers can work faster, smarter, and more effectively.

Unlocking AI-driven development with Docker AI Catalog integration

AI/ML development is exploding, but many developers face hurdles accessing prebuilt AI models and tools. They often need to search across multiple platforms, wasting valuable time piecing together resources and overcoming compatibility issues. This fragmentation slows down innovation and makes it harder for teams to bring AI-driven features into their applications.

With Docker Desktop 4.37, the AI Catalog in Docker Hub is now accessible directly through Docker Desktop. This seamless integration enables developers to discover, pull, and integrate AI models into their workflows effortlessly. Whether you’re incorporating pretrained machine learning models or exploring generative AI tools, Docker Desktop ensures these resources are just a click away.

Key benefits:

• Streamlined discovery: You don’t need to leave your development environment to find AI tools. The AI Catalog is built into Docker Hub and can be immediately accessed from Docker Desktop.
• Faster prototyping: By eliminating friction in accessing AI resources, teams can focus on building and iterating faster.
• Enhanced compatibility: Docker’s containerized approach ensures AI models run consistently across environments, reducing setup headaches.

Whether you’re developing cutting-edge AI/ML applications or just beginning to experiment with AI tools, this integration empowers developers to innovate without distraction.

Command-line operations: Control Docker Desktop your way

For developers who automate workflows or work heavily in terminal environments, relying solely on graphical user interfaces (GUIs) can be limiting. Starting, stopping, or troubleshooting Docker Desktop often requires GUI navigation, which can disrupt automation pipelines and slow down power users.

Docker Desktop 4.37 introduces robust command-line capabilities for managing Docker Desktop itself. Developers can now perform essential tasks such as starting, stopping, restarting, and checking the status of Docker Desktop directly from the command line.

Key benefits:

• Improved automation: Script Docker Desktop operations into CI/CD workflows, eliminating manual intervention.
• Faster troubleshooting: Check the status and restart Docker Desktop without leaving the terminal, streamlining issue resolution.
• Developer flexibility: A smoother, distraction-free experience for developers who prefer terminal-based workflows.

This new feature bridges the gap between GUI and command-line preferences, allowing developers to tailor their workflows to their needs.

Upgraded components: Keeping developers ahead

Docker Desktop 4.37 includes significant upgrades to its underlying components, bringing enhanced performance, security, and feature sets such as GPU- accelerated workflows. 

Here’s what’s new:

• Docker Buildx v0.19.2: Optimized multiplatform builds for faster, more efficient pipelines.
• Docker Compose v2.31.0: New Docker Compose enhancements make managing multi-container applications simpler and more powerful.
• Docker Engine v27.4.0: Ensures compatibility with the latest development tools and runtime improvements.
• Docker Scout CLI v1.15.1: Improved security scanning helps teams identify vulnerabilities earlier in the development cycle.
• NVIDIA Container Toolkit v1.17.2: Supports GPU-accelerated workflows, crucial for AI/ML workloads.

Bug fixes and stability improvements

At Docker, we aim to provide a stable and dependable development platform so developer teams can focus on creating, not troubleshooting. Docker Desktop 4.37 also addresses several key bugs and usability concerns:

• Default disk usage limit: New installations now default to a 1TB disk limit, offering additional flexibility for developers with large containerized applications.
• Loopback AF_VSOCK connections: Fixed to ensure container communication reliability.
• CLI context reset fixes: Prevent unintended resets when restoring default settings.
• Dashboard synchronization: Ensures consistent behavior between the Docker Desktop Dashboard and the Docker daemon after engine restarts.
• Resource Saver mode stability: Resolves issues with mode reengagement, improving power efficiency for resource-conscious users.

Wrapping up 

Docker Desktop 4.37 offers a step forward in enabling developers to innovate. With a focus on AI-driven development and automation-friendly operations, this release aligns with the evolving needs of modern software teams.

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Modern application development has evolved dramatically. Gone are the days when a couple of developers, a few machines, and some pizza were enough to launch an app. As the industry grew, DevOps revolutionized collaboration, and Docker popularized containerization, simplifying workflows and accelerating delivery. 

Later, DevSecOps brought security into the mix. Fast forward to today, and the demand for software has never been greater, with more than 750 million cloud-native apps expected by 2025.

This explosion in demand has created a new challenge: complexity. Applications now span multiple programming languages, frameworks, and architectures, integrating both legacy and modern systems. Development workflows must navigate hybrid environments — local, cloud, and everything in between. This complexity makes it harder for companies to deliver innovation on time and stay competitive. 

To overcome these challenges, you need a development platform that’s as reliable and ubiquitous as electricity or Wi-Fi — a platform that works consistently across diverse applications, development tools, and environments. Whether you’re just starting to move toward microservices or fully embracing cloud-native development, Docker meets your team where they are, integrates seamlessly into existing workflows, and scales to meet the needs of individual developers, teams, and entire enterprises.

Docker: Simplifying the complex

The Docker suite of products provides the tools you need to accelerate development, modernize legacy applications, and empower your team to work efficiently and securely. With Docker, you can:

• Modernize legacy applications: Docker makes it easy to containerize existing systems, bringing them closer to modern technology stacks without disrupting operations.
• Boost productivity for cloud-native teams: Docker ensures consistent environments, integrates with CI/CD workflows, supports hybrid development environments, and enhances collaboration

Consistent environments: Build once, run anywhere

Docker ensures consistency across development, testing, and production environments, eliminating the dreaded “works on my machine” problem. With Docker, your team can build applications in unified environments — whether on macOS, Windows, or Linux — for reliable code, better collaboration, and faster time to market.

With Docker Desktop, developers have a powerful GUI and CLI for managing containers locally. Integration with popular IDEs like Visual Studio Code allows developers to code, build, and debug within familiar tools. Built-in Kubernetes support enables teams to test and deploy applications on a local Kubernetes cluster, giving developers confidence that their code will perform in production as expected.

Integrated workflows for hybrid environments

Development today spans both local and cloud environments. Docker bridges the gap and provides flexibility with solutions like Docker Build Cloud, which speeds up build pipelines by up to 39x using cloud-based, multi-platform builders. This allows developers to focus more on coding and innovation, rather than waiting on builds.

Docker also integrates seamlessly with CI/CD tools like Jenkins, GitLab CI, and GitHub Actions. This automation reduces manual intervention, enabling consistent and reliable deployments. Whether you’re building in the cloud or locally, Docker ensures flexibility and productivity at every stage.

Team collaboration: Better together

Collaboration is central to Docker. With integrations like Docker Hub and other registries, teams can easily share container images and work together on builds. Docker Desktop features like Docker Debug and the Builds view dashboards empower developers to troubleshoot issues together, speeding up resolution and boosting team efficiency.

Docker Scout provides actionable security insights, helping teams identify and resolve vulnerabilities early in the development process. With these tools, Docker fosters a collaborative environment where teams can innovate faster and more securely.

Why Docker?

In today’s fast-paced development landscape, complexity can slow you down. Docker’s unified platform reduces complexity as it simplifies workflows, standardizes environments, and empowers teams to deliver software faster and more securely. Whether you’re modernizing legacy applications, bridging local and cloud environments, or building cutting-edge, cloud-native apps, Docker helps you achieve efficiency and scale at every stage of the development lifecycle.

Docker offers a unified platform that combines industry-leading tools — Docker Desktop, Docker Hub, Docker Build Cloud, Docker Scout, and Testcontainers Cloud — into a seamless experience. Docker’s flexible plans ensure there’s a solution for every developer and every team, from individual contributors to large enterprises.

Get started today

Ready to simplify your development workflows? Start your Docker journey now and equip your team with the tools they need to innovate, collaborate, and deliver with confidence.

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Cloud Expo Asia 2024 in Singapore drew thousands of cloud professionals and tech business leaders to explore and exchange the latest in cloud computing, security, GenAI, sustainability, DevOps, and more. At our Cloud Expo Asia booth, Docker showcased our latest innovations in AI integration, containerization, security best practices, and updated product offerings. Here are a few highlights from our experience at the event.

AI/ML and GenAI everywhere

AI/ML and GenAI were hot topics at Cloud Expo Asia. Docker CPO Giri Sreenivas’s talk on Transforming App Development: Docker’s Advanced Containerization and AI Integration highlighted that GenAI impacts software in two big ways — it accelerates product development and creates new types of products and experiences. He discussed how containers are an ideal tool for containerizing GenAI workflows in development, ensuring consistency across CI/CD pipelines and reproducibility across diverse platforms in production.

Sreenivas highlighted the Docker extension for GitHub Copilot as an example of how Docker helps empower development teams to focus on innovation — closing the gap from the first line of code to production. Sreenivas also gave a sneak peek into upcoming products designed to streamline GenAI development to illustrate Docker’s commitment to evolving solutions to meet emerging needs. 

Adopting security best practices and shifting left

Developer efficiency and security were also popular themes at the event. When Sreenivas mentioned in his talk that security vulnerabilities that cost dollars to fix early in development would cost hundreds of dollars later in production, members of the audience nodded in agreement.

Docker CTO Justin Cormack gave a keynote address titled “The Docker Effect: Driving Developer Efficiency and Innovation in a Hybrid World.” He discussed how implementing best practices and investing in the inner loop are crucial for today’s development teams. 

One best practice, for example, is shifting left and identifying problems as quickly as possible in the software development lifecycle. This approach improves efficiency and reduces costs by detecting and addressing software issues earlier before they become expensive problems.

Cormack also provided a few tips for meeting the security and control needs of modern enterprises with a layered approach. Start with key building blocks, he explained, such as trusted content, which provides dev teams with a good foundation to build securely from the start. 

At the Docker event booth, we demonstrated Docker Scout, which helps development teams identify, analyze, and remediate security vulnerabilities early in the dev process. Docker Business customers can take advantage of enterprise controls, letting admins, IT teams, and security teams continuously monitor and manage risk and compliance with confidence. 

New Docker innovations and updated plan

From students to C-level executives who visited our booth, everyone was eager to learn more about containers and Docker. People lined up to see an end-to-end demo of how the suite of Docker products, such as Docker Desktop, Docker Hub, Docker Build Cloud, and Docker Scout, work together seamlessly to enable development teams to work more efficiently. 

Attendees also had the opportunity to learn more about Docker’s updated plans, which makes accessing the full suite of Docker products and solutions easy, with options for individual developers, small teams, and large enterprises.

Thanks, Cloud Expo Asia!

We enjoyed our conversations with event attendees and appreciate everyone who helped make this such a successful event. Thank you to the organizers, speakers, sponsors, and the community for a productive, information-packed experience.

From accelerating app development, supporting best practices of shifting left, meeting the security and control needs of modern enterprises, and innovating with GenAI, Docker wants to be your trusted partner to navigate the challenges in modern app development. 

Explore our Docker updated plans to learn how Docker can empower your teams, or contact our sales team to discover how we can help you innovate with confidence.

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• Find out how we’re investing in innovation and customer relationships.
• Read about updated Docker plans: Simpler, More Value, Better Development and Productivity.
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