Bundled docker CLI
On this page
Skrog runs the engine; you still need a docker command to talk to it. Docker
Desktop’s docker.exe works fine (Skrog coexists with it), but if you want to
remove Docker Desktop entirely, Skrog can install the upstream command-line
tools itself:
skrog cli install
That fetches, checksum-verifies, and installs the exact versions pinned in this build:
| Tool | What it is | Where it lands |
|---|---|---|
docker | the Docker CLI | <state>\bin\docker.exe (on PATH) |
docker compose | Compose v2 plugin | ~/.docker/cli-plugins\docker-compose.exe |
docker buildx | Buildx plugin | ~/.docker/cli-plugins\docker-buildx.exe |
docker-credential-wincred | Windows credential helper | <state>\bin (on PATH) |
Nothing is fetched as “latest”: the versions and per-download SHA-256 are compiled
into the Skrog binary, exactly like the engine (see PLAN.md §04).
The bytes come from each upstream project’s own release assets — the docker CLI
from download.docker.com, compose/buildx/wincred from their GitHub releases —
so no Docker Desktop and no third-party mirror is involved.
After installing
skrog cli install adds the bin directory to your user PATH (no elevation)
and prepends it, so a new terminal resolves docker to the bundled CLI. Verify:
docker version
docker compose version
docker buildx version
If Docker Desktop is still installed, its docker may win in shells opened before
the PATH change. skrog doctor flags that:
[warn] bundled docker CLI: another docker shadows the bundled CLI on PATH
bundled: ...\Skrog\bin\docker.exe
active: C:\Program Files\Docker\Docker\resources\bin\docker.exe
Open a new terminal (or stop/uninstall Docker Desktop) and it resolves to Skrog’s.
Pass --no-path to install the tools without touching PATH (you add the directory
yourself).
Licensing
The bundled tools are open source and redistributable: the docker CLI, Compose,
and Buildx are Apache-2.0; the credential helper is MIT. Each project’s LICENSE is
installed alongside the binaries in <state>\bin\licenses. Skrog is not
affiliated with or endorsed by Docker, Inc.; “Docker” is a trademark of Docker,
Inc.
Uninstalling
skrog cli uninstall
removes the bundled tools and takes the bin directory back off your PATH. (Plain
skrog uninstall removes the engine; the CLI bundle is managed separately so you
can keep the CLI while reinstalling the engine.)
Architecture note
Windows amd64 gets all four tools. On Windows arm64, compose, buildx, and
the credential helper are available, but upstream does not yet publish a Windows
arm64 docker.exe; skrog cli install reports it as unavailable and installs
the rest. Use Docker Desktop’s docker (which is arm64-native) until an upstream
arm64 CLI ships.