Lost My Mind Setting Up Dev Environment with Docker
I tried to unify my development environment with Docker because each project uses a different Node version, but I keep running into errors with volume mounts and port mapping. Even following the official docs didn't work, and searching Stack Overflow didn't help either. Especially on Windows, the combination of WSL2 and Docker Desktop just seems to be so glitchy... Has anyone else had a similar experience?
10 answers
I recently struggled with the same issue. The Windows + WSL2 combination is really finicky. In my case, it was resolved by changing the volume mount path to a WSL internal path instead of using /mnt/c/.... Give it a try.
Official documentation isn't always the answer. I simplified port mapping with Docker Compose, and explicitly writing the ports: section in docker-compose.yml reduced errors. On Windows, there are also file permission issues, so make sure to check chmod as well.
I totally feel you on the mental breakdown lol. I also struggled for two days, but in the end, switching to Hyper-V instead of WSL2 was much more stable. Just a heads-up, there's also an option in Docker Desktop settings to change the backend to Hyper-V.
Could I take a look at the error logs? Volume mount errors are likely due to path separator issues. Try using forward slashes instead of backslashes in Windows paths, or consider parameterizing the path using a .env file.
I've had a similar experience, so now I just manage Node versions with nvm. You don't always need to go as far as Docker. Creating a .nvmrc file per project makes it pretty convenient.
Volume mounting in the WSL2 and Docker Desktop combination is a real headache. For me, it worked when I added two slashes before the path, like docker run -v //c/Users/...:/app. Worth a try.
I initially got stuck using 0.0.0.0:8080:80 for port mapping, but it worked when I changed the host port to 127.0.0.1:8080:80. It might be a Windows firewall issue, so check that out.
I struggled with a similar issue for over a month, but in the end, I installed Docker Engine directly on WSL2 instead of Docker Desktop. Since then, it's been running almost without any problems. There are plenty of installation guides on Google, so give it a search.
I just gave up and run Ubuntu on VirtualBox, then use Docker there. Native Docker on Windows is too stressful... It does eat up some memory, but at least it's stable.
Hang in there! I think I looked at Stack Overflow about 50 times in the same situation. In the end, the solution was to uncheck 'Use WSL 2 based engine' in Docker Desktop settings and reinstall it. Surprisingly simple, but it ate up so much time.