What is com.docker.backend on Mac?
By Junaid, maker of Taskglass · Last reviewed
Docker Desktop's main background service that manages the VM, networking and file sharing.
com.docker.backend is Docker Desktop's core background process. It manages the Linux virtual machine, networking, file sharing between macOS and containers, and the Docker API that the docker command talks to. Its usage rises with container activity and file sharing.
- Category
- Developer tools
- Made by
- Docker Inc.
- Safe to quit:
- With care
Shown in Activity Monitor as com.docker.backend, com.docker.build
Why is com.docker.backend using so much CPU or memory?
- Busy containers or many open ports
- Mounting large folders into containers
- Image builds
- Lots of network traffic to containers
What to do
- 1Stop unneeded containers
- 2Avoid mounting very large folders into containers
- 3Restart Docker Desktop from its menu
- 4Update Docker Desktop
Safe to quit? With care.
Quitting it stops Docker and all containers; quit Docker Desktop from its menu instead.
Related processes
Part of the Taskglass Process Library