hyperbutler
Preview v0.1.0-preview.1

Docker on Windows.
No WSL.

hyperbutler is a lightweight, Docker‑compatible engine. It boots a minimal Linux VM through the Windows Host Compute Service, runs dockerd inside it, and lets the stock docker CLI talk to it.

Download for Windows GitHub

Windows 11 Home, Pro, Enterprise · x64 · MSI or zip · Apache-2.0

The hyperbutler mascot, a robot butler in a bow tie, holding up a tray with a glowing stack of layers 
PS C:\Users\you> hyperbutler start
hyperbutler is running: the Docker API answered after 1.5 s (engine pid 7412).
PS C:\Users\you> docker run --rm hello-world
Unable to find image 'hello-world:latest' locally
latest: Pulling from library/hello-world
Status: Downloaded newer image for hello-world:latest

Hello from Docker!
This message shows that your installation appears to be working correctly.
PS C:\Users\you>
A PowerShell session: hyperbutler start reports that the Docker API answered after 1.5 seconds, then docker run hello-world prints Hello from Docker.

Benchmarks

Lighter where it counts.

hyperbutler against Docker Desktop 4.97 (WSL 2), on one laptop, each with its default settings. Shorter bars are better.

Start until a container runs

hyperbutler
2.5 s
Docker Desktop
5.6 s

Idle memory, VM running

hyperbutler
322 MiB
Docker Desktop
1.7–2.7 GB

Docker Desktop varied over the first 6 minutes; the faded part of its bar is that range.

Disk, 5 min after deleting ~5 GB of images

hyperbutler
1.5 GiB
Docker Desktop
6.8 GiB

Download

hyperbutler
116 MB
Docker Desktop
592 MB +351 MB WSL

The faded part is the WSL download, needed if WSL is missing.

Bind mount: read 2000 small files from C:\

hyperbutler
0.4 s
Docker Desktop
3.4 s

Measured on one laptop (Windows 11 Home, Core Ultra 7 155H, 32 GB), one engine at a time, same script. Docker Desktop’s Resource Saver stops its VM after about 7 idle minutes; its processes then use 404 MiB. One machine is not a general result. Method and raw data

Features

Works well by default.

No tuning, no extra subsystem to keep updated. Install it, start it, run containers.

  • No WSL

    The VM runs directly on the Windows Host Compute Service, the same API WSL 2 uses. WSL is not required, can stay disabled, and its updates do not affect hyperbutler.

    3 resident processes at idle

  • Works on Windows 11 Home

    Home is first-class; Pro and Enterprise work too. You need an x64 PC with virtualization enabled in the firmware.

  • Disk space given back automatically

    Delete images and the data disk shrinks on its own. No manual compaction, no admin step.

  • Fast bind mounts from C:\

    Mount a Windows folder with -v C:\src:/src. Reading 2000 small files took 0.4 s.

  • Stock docker CLI + Compose

    The docker CLI and the compose plugin are bundled and set up through a hyperbutler docker context.

  • No telemetry

    hyperbutler sends no usage data. The app only checks GitHub for updates once a day, and you can turn that off.

  • Open source, Apache-2.0

    The source is on GitHub. Free to use at any company size.

Install

Three steps to hello-world.

You need Windows 11 (Home, Pro or Enterprise) on x64, with virtualization enabled in the firmware.

  1. Run the MSI

    Download it from the latest release. One UAC prompt, then it:

    • adds hyperbutler and its docker CLI to the PATH;
    • adds you to Hyper-V Administrators, if you leave that box ticked;
    • turns on Virtual Machine Platform if it is missing.

  2. Sign out and back in

    The group membership applies at your next sign-in. If Virtual Machine Platform was just turned on, Windows asks for a restart instead.

  3. Run a container

    > hyperbutler start
> docker run hello-world

Unsigned preview

Builds are not code-signed yet, so SmartScreen says “Windows protected your PC”: choose More info, then Run anyway. Check the file against SHA256SUMS from the release first: 

Get-FileHash .\hyperbutler-*-windows-amd64.msi -Algorithm SHA256

About Hyper-V Administrators

The group lets every program you run control the Hyper-V VMs on this PC, not just hyperbutler. Treat it as close to admin rights. Prefer no installer? The zip needs no admin rights for itself; see the install guide.

Preview

This is an early preview.

It works end to end on Windows 11 Home, but some things are still open. Among them:

  • The 24-hour soak test has not been run (the 1-hour run passed).
  • Until the HCS access broker ships, your account needs Hyper-V Administrators membership.
  • Docker Compose has not been tested yet.
  • Bind mounts from Windows paths work, but are not yet fast for write-heavy trees: use a named volume for node_modules.
  • Builds are not code-signed, and the installer is English only.

Current status and known gaps