Choosing a Container Runtime

Precision Bridge runs as a set of containers — lightweight, isolated environments that package the application and all its dependencies. To run these containers, you need a container runtime installed on your system.

Three container runtimes are supported. This article helps you decide which one to install.

Our recommendation: We recommend Docker Desktop or Rancher Desktop for most users. Both provide the best out-of-the-box experience with Precision Bridge. Podman is fully supported but may require slightly more configuration.

First-time installation on Windows: All three runtimes require WSL 2 (Windows Subsystem for Linux 2) on Windows. If WSL 2 is not already enabled on your machine, you will need to restart your computer during setup to complete the WSL 2 installation. This is a one-time requirement.

Supported Runtimes

Runtime	Platform	Cost	Sign-in Required	Best For
Docker Desktop	Windows, macOS	Free for personal use and small businesses; paid subscription for larger organisations	Yes — Docker account required	Most users — easiest setup, most widely documented
Rancher Desktop	Windows, macOS, Linux	Free and open-source (Apache 2.0)	No	Organisations where Docker Desktop licensing or sign-in is a concern
Podman	Windows, macOS, Linux	Free and open-source	No	Organisations that require a daemonless, rootless runtime or cannot use Docker at all

All three runtimes run the same Precision Bridge container images. There is no difference in application functionality regardless of which runtime you choose.

Quick Recommendation

Use the following guidance to select a runtime:

For evaluation on a personal machine, install Docker Desktop. It is the simplest runtime to set up and has the most community documentation.
For organisations with more than 250 employees, more than $10 million in annual revenue, or IT policies that prohibit signing in to third-party services, Docker Desktop is not suitable: it requires a paid commercial subscription in those organisations and a Docker account sign-in. Use Rancher Desktop (free, no sign-in) or Podman (free, no sign-in) instead.
For environments where IT policy prohibits a background Docker daemon, install Podman. It is daemonless and supports rootless containers, which may satisfy stricter security policies.
For Linux server (production) deployments, install Docker Engine directly (covered as a note in the Docker Desktop setup guide) or use Podman. Neither requires a desktop GUI.

Comparison

Docker Desktop

Docker Desktop is the most popular container runtime for Windows and macOS. It provides a graphical interface, automatic updates, and includes Docker Compose out of the box.

Advantages: - Easiest installation — one-click installer with minimal configuration - Built-in Docker Compose support - Automatic WSL 2 integration on Windows - Extensive community documentation and troubleshooting resources

Considerations: - Requires a paid subscription for commercial use in organisations with 250+ employees or $10M+ revenue - Requires creating a Docker account and signing in to use the application - Runs a background daemon (dockerd) that consumes resources even when idle - Cannot run simultaneously with Rancher Desktop (they share the Docker socket)

Rancher Desktop

Rancher Desktop is a free, open-source alternative to Docker Desktop developed by SUSE. It provides the same Docker CLI and Docker Compose commands when configured with the dockerd (moby) runtime.

Advantages: - Free for all users, including commercial use, with no restrictions - Provides the same docker and docker compose commands as Docker Desktop - Optional built-in Kubernetes cluster (not required for Precision Bridge)

Considerations: - Must be configured to use the dockerd (moby) runtime — the default containerd runtime does not provide Docker CLI commands - Cannot run simultaneously with Docker Desktop - Slightly more initial configuration than Docker Desktop

Podman

Podman is a daemonless, rootless container runtime. It does not require a background service to be running and can execute containers without root privileges, which makes it attractive for security-conscious environments.

Advantages: - Free and open-source with no licensing restrictions - Daemonless — no background service required - Rootless mode — can run containers without root/administrator privileges - CLI is largely compatible with Docker (podman commands mirror docker commands) - Can run simultaneously with Docker Desktop or Rancher Desktop (no socket conflict)

Considerations: - Uses podman compose (or podman-compose) instead of docker compose — see the Podman setup guide for details - Some Docker-specific features (like host-gateway in extra_hosts) require workarounds — Precision Bridge handles these automatically - Less community documentation compared to Docker Desktop

Running in a Virtual Machine

If you are installing any of these runtimes inside a virtual machine (VMware, Hyper-V, VirtualBox, cloud VM), you may encounter issues related to nested virtualisation. See Running in a Virtual Machine for diagnosis and solutions.

Next Steps

Choose your runtime and follow the corresponding setup guide: