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docs: document Docker Desktop VM-level backup for general use#24837

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lacatoire wants to merge 1 commit intodocker:mainfrom
lacatoire:docs/desktop-backup-vm
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docs: document Docker Desktop VM-level backup for general use#24837
lacatoire wants to merge 1 commit intodocker:mainfrom
lacatoire:docs/desktop-backup-vm

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@lacatoire
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Fixes #22743.

The If Docker Desktop fails to start section of content/manuals/desktop/settings-and-maintenance/backup-and-restore.md already documented the VM disk paths per platform (Windows docker_data.vhdx, Mac and Linux Docker.raw) and the WSL distributions backup procedure, but it was gated behind a failure-recovery framing, so users looking for a generic way to back up the whole Docker Desktop environment (for migration or system-level backup like Time Machine) wouldn't find it.

Changes:

  • Renamed the section to Back up the Docker Desktop VM to reflect that VM-level backup is useful beyond failure recovery.
  • Added an intro that lists the three real use cases: inclusion in a system-level backup (Time Machine), whole-environment migration to another machine, recovery after a failed installation.
  • Promoted the "Docker Desktop must be fully stopped" warning from an inline sentence to an [!IMPORTANT] callout, so readers who skim the section don't miss it.
  • Renamed each tab's first subheader from Back up Docker containers/images to Back up the Docker Desktop disk image, which is accurate (the VM disk contains images, containers, volumes, and runtime state).
  • Added a note in the Mac tab pointing out that the parent directory ~/Library/Containers/com.docker.docker can be included in a Time Machine backup to capture the disk image automatically.

No change to the If Docker Desktop is functioning normally section (image-level docker commit / docker push / docker image save), which remains the recommended default path.

@lacatoire lacatoire requested a review from aevesdocker as a code owner April 20, 2026 16:22
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Desktop: document how to backup/restore the whole VM

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