Docker for .NET Developers on Windows

Eight hands-on parts that take a .NET developer on Windows from a fresh Docker Desktop to an app and its PostgreSQL database running from one compose file and shipped as an image: what Desktop actually runs, containers, bind mounts and volumes, ports and networking, PostgreSQL, Compose, building the image, and the daily loop. Every command was run on a Windows 11 PC and every output is real.

8 parts · ~51 min of reading, in order, nothing assumed.

Start with Part 1

📥 The sample API's Dockerfile, as built in Part 7 📥 The compose.yaml for the API and its PostgreSQL, from Part 6 🧭 The PC itself: Set Up a Windows PC for .NET Development 🔧 Every Docker error we have reproduced, in the Fixes category

Docker for .NET Developers on Windows · Part 1

What Docker Desktop Actually Runs on Windows

Where Docker runs on a Windows PC, shown with real commands. The WSL distribution behind the engine, the 30 GB disk, the client, and what the Settings do. Oct 14, 2026 6 min read

Docker for .NET Developers on Windows · Part 2

Containers: Run, Look Inside, Stop, Remove

The Docker commands you use every day, run on Windows. run and --rm, logs, exec and the -it error, inspect, stop against kill, and why names collide. Oct 14, 2026 6 min read

Docker for .NET Developers on Windows · Part 3

Files In and Out: Bind Mounts and Volumes on Windows

Docker bind mounts and volumes on Windows, run for real. The three path spellings, what Git Bash does to them, where a volume lives, and the build-speed gap. Oct 14, 2026 6 min read

Docker for .NET Developers on Windows · Part 4

Ports and Networking: Who Binds What, Where

Docker ports on Windows, run and explained. Who owns a published port, the reserved ranges, localhost inside a container, and containers that talk by name. Oct 14, 2026 5 min read

Docker for .NET Developers on Windows · Part 5

PostgreSQL in a Container for a .NET App

PostgreSQL in Docker for a .NET app, step by step. Variables, the init script, the volume that keeps data, and connection strings from Windows and a container. Oct 14, 2026 6 min read

Docker for .NET Developers on Windows · Part 6

Compose: The App and Its Database from One File

Docker Compose for a .NET app and PostgreSQL, run for real. The healthcheck the app waits for, the .env trap, rebuilds, down against down -v, profiles, watch. Oct 14, 2026 6 min read

Docker for .NET Developers on Windows · Part 7

Building the .NET Image: Dockerfile or dotnet publish

Build a Docker image for an ASP.NET Core app, two ways. A two-stage Dockerfile and the SDK's PublishContainer, the cache, .dockerignore and the base image trap. Oct 14, 2026 6 min read

Docker for .NET Developers on Windows · Part 8

The Daily Loop and the Clean-Up: Disk, Restart Policies, Health, Events and a Pre-Push Check

Living with Docker on a Windows PC. Where the disk went, which prune is safe, the daily commands timed, restart policies, health, events and a one-file check. Oct 14, 2026 10 min read

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