# Boot2Docker

DEPRECATED; see https://github.com/boot2docker/boot2docker/pull/1408

Repository: https://github.com/boot2docker/boot2docker
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/boot2docker
Homepage: https://github.com/boot2docker/boot2docker/pull/1408
Language: Shell
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Archived: true
Last push: 2020-06-30T17:55:50+00:00
Link (homepage): https://github.com/boot2docker/boot2docker/pull/1408

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 10/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4655, "days_push": 2255, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: archived
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 8274, forks 1267 (observed 2026-08-28T04:10:20.019680+00:00)

## What it is
Boot2Docker is a lightweight (~45MB) Linux distribution designed specifically to run Docker containers, booting quickly and running entirely from RAM with Docker pre-installed. It is now officially deprecated and unmaintained, with users directed to Docker Desktop instead.

## Use cases
- run docker containers in a lightweight vm
- set up docker on windows or mac without native support
- boot a minimal linux with docker preinstalled
- create a disposable docker development environment
- run docker entirely from ram

## When to choose
- you are stuck on legacy tooling that still requires the boot2docker iso
- you need a tiny ram-only linux vm with docker for a legacy setup

## When to avoid
- starting any new project - it is deprecated and unmaintained
- production workloads - explicitly discouraged by the project
- you want supported docker on windows or mac - use Docker Desktop instead

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: abandoned
- function: container-runtime, developer-tools
- domain: developer-tools
- platform: windows
- tags: docker, lightweight-linux-distro, deprecated, virtual-machine, ram-based-os, virtualization, containers, devops, linux, macos, virtualbox

## Member repositories
- boot2docker/boot2docker (main) score 10
- boot2docker/windows-installer (infra) score 10

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:20.019680+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:28:07.124087+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/boot2docker/boot2docker (fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:20.019680+00:00, sha a2140000ec53)
  - homepage: https://github.com/boot2docker/boot2docker/pull/1408 (fetched 2026-08-29T08:27:48.263220+00:00, sha b8205c33344e)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.