Troubleshooting

I'm on Linux and get the error "connect EACCES /var/run/docker.sock"

Since VS Code runs as a non-root user, you will need to follow the steps in "Manage Docker as a non-root user" from Post-installation steps for Linux for the extension to be able to access docker.

Docker containers and images have disappeared from Docker view

This is most likely caused by a conflict with another extension called Docker Explorer (not authored by Microsoft). We are working with the author of that extension to have it fixed permanently. In the meantime, use a workaround described here.

The extension does not find Docker on a remote machine ("Failed to connect. Is Docker installed and running?" error)

1. Make sure Docker engine is installed on the remote machine and that Docker CLI works (do docker ps and ensure it does not return any errors).
2. Verify that Docker extension is installed on the remote machine. As of February 2020 there is a bug in VS Code that prevents the Docker extension to be installed remotely if it is already installed locally. This bug is scheduled to be fixed in VS Code 1.43 release. A workaround to get the extension installed remotely is described here.

Invalid URL Errors

When using our tools, your Docker Host URL needs to use a complete URL to work with our Extension. Depending on your server's protocol, you need to prepend your protocol explicity with ssh, tcp, or other (e.g ssh://[email protected] or tcp://1.2.3.4). This issue arises because the Docker CLI generally uses a DOCKER_HOST environment variable to connect to your Docker daemon without needing a prepended protocol. To fix this issue in VS Code, you can set your Docker Host URL with the docker.host attribute in settings.json. Otherwise, you can set the DOCKER_HOST environment variable from the command line. These errors mainly affect Node users.

To change your docker.host attribute:

1. Type Ctrl and , or select File > Preferences > Settings
2. Search for "docker.host"
3. Enter your Docker Host URL with a prepended protocol

If you do not want to change your docker.host attribute within settings.json of VS Code, which overrides the DOCKER_HOST environment variable on your PC, you can change the environment variable from the command line (OS specific).

For example, in Powershell you can change your docker environment variable with $ENV:DOCKER_HOST = 'ssh://[email protected]'

We recommend removing the docker.host attribute altogether and instead creating a context to connect to. However, before creating a context, make sure to delete or clear your DOCKER_HOST environment variable from your PC (OS specific).

Check out this guide to learn how to create and use a context to communicate with your Docker daemon.