6.3 KiB
version
Show the Docker version information
Options
| Name | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
-f, --format |
string |
Format output using a custom template: 'json': Print in JSON format 'TEMPLATE': Print output using the given Go template. Refer to https://docs.docker.com/go/formatting/ for more information about formatting output with templates |
Description
The version command prints the current version number for all independently
versioned Docker components. Use the --format option to customize
the output.
The version command (docker version) outputs the version numbers of Docker
components, while the --version flag (docker --version) outputs the version
number of the Docker CLI you are using.
Default output
The default output renders all version information divided into two sections;
the Client section contains information about the Docker CLI and client
components, and the Server section contains information about the Docker
Engine and components used by the Docker Engine, such as the containerd and runc
OCI Runtimes.
The information shown may differ depending on how you installed Docker and what components are in use. The following example shows the output on a macOS machine running Docker Desktop:
$ docker version
Client: Docker Engine - Community
Version: 28.5.1
API version: 1.51
Go version: go1.24.8
Git commit: e180ab8
Built: Wed Oct 8 12:16:17 2025
OS/Arch: darwin/arm64
Context: remote-test-server
Server: Docker Desktop 4.19.0 (12345)
Engine:
Version: 27.5.1
API version: 1.47 (minimum version 1.24)
Go version: go1.22.11
Git commit: 4c9b3b0
Built: Wed Jan 22 13:41:24 2025
OS/Arch: linux/amd64
Experimental: true
containerd:
Version: v1.7.25
GitCommit: bcc810d6b9066471b0b6fa75f557a15a1cbf31bb
runc:
Version: 1.2.4
GitCommit: v1.2.4-0-g6c52b3f
docker-init:
Version: 0.19.0
GitCommit: de40ad0
Client and server versions
Docker uses a client/server architecture, which allows you to use the Docker CLI on your local machine to control a Docker Engine running on a remote machine, which can be (for example) a machine running in the cloud or inside a virtual machine.
The following example switches the Docker CLI to use a context
named remote-test-server, which runs an older version of the Docker Engine
on a Linux server:
$ docker context use remote-test-server
remote-test-server
$ docker version
Client: Docker Engine - Community
Version: 28.5.1
API version: 1.51
Go version: go1.24.8
Git commit: e180ab8
Built: Wed Oct 8 12:16:17 2025
OS/Arch: darwin/arm64
Context: remote-test-server
Server: Docker Engine - Community
Engine:
Version: 27.5.1
API version: 1.47 (minimum version 1.24)
Go version: go1.22.11
Git commit: 4c9b3b0
Built: Wed Jan 22 13:41:24 2025
OS/Arch: linux/amd64
Experimental: true
containerd:
Version: v1.7.25
GitCommit: bcc810d6b9066471b0b6fa75f557a15a1cbf31bb
runc:
Version: 1.2.4
GitCommit: v1.2.4-0-g6c52b3f
docker-init:
Version: 0.19.0
GitCommit: de40ad0
API version and version negotiation
The API version used by the client depends on the Docker Engine that the Docker CLI is connecting with. When connecting with the Docker Engine, the Docker CLI and Docker Engine perform API version negotiation, and select the highest API version that is supported by both the Docker CLI and the Docker Engine.
For example, if the CLI is connecting with Docker Engine version 27.5, it downgrades to API version 1.47 (refer to the API version matrix to learn about the supported API versions for Docker Engine):
$ docker version --format '{{.Client.APIVersion}}'
1.47
Be aware that API version can also be overridden using the DOCKER_API_VERSION
environment variable, which can be useful for debugging purposes, and disables
API version negotiation. The following example illustrates an environment where
the DOCKER_API_VERSION environment variable is set. Unsetting the environment
variable removes the override, and re-enables API version negotiation:
$ env | grep DOCKER_API_VERSION
DOCKER_API_VERSION=1.50
$ docker version --format '{{.Client.APIVersion}}'
1.50
$ unset DOCKER_API_VERSION
$ docker version --format '{{.Client.APIVersion}}'
1.51
Examples
Format the output (--format)
The formatting option (--format) pretty-prints the output using a Go template,
which allows you to customize the output format, or to obtain specific information
from the output. Refer to the format command and log output
page for details of the format.
Get the server version
$ docker version --format '{{.Server.Version}}'
28.5.1
Get the client API version
The following example prints the API version that is used by the client:
$ docker version --format '{{.Client.APIVersion}}'
1.51
The version shown is the API version that is negotiated between the client and the Docker Engine. Refer to API version and version negotiation above for more information.
Dump raw JSON data
$ docker version --format '{{json .}}'
{"Client":"Version":"28.5.1","ApiVersion":"1.51", ...}