I built a lightweight Docker engine for Windows: no WSL, 322 MiB idle

Description and use

hyperbutler is a lightweight Docker engine for Windows that uses 5× less memory and 4× less disk than Docker Desktop, but lacks Kubernetes and GUI features.

Problem

Running Linux containers on Windows with Docker Desktop consumes excessive memory, disk space, and requires a paid subscription for larger companies.

Outcome

hyperbutler achieves comparable functionality to Docker Desktop while using 5× less memory, 4× less disk, and no WSL, but lacks Kubernetes, Windows containers, and GUI features.

Workflow

• Install hyperbutler from zip or MSI
• Run hyperbutler start docker run … to start a container
• Use standard Docker CLI/Compose with hyperbutler context
• Stop with hyperbutler stop

Evidence

hyperbutler is an open‑source (Apache‑2.0) Docker engine for Windows 11. It boots a minimal Linux VM straight through the Windows Host Compute Service (HCS, the same API WSL 2 uses underneath), runs dockerd inside it, and exposes the Docker API on a Windows named pipe. No WSL.

Source

Idle memory, VM running: hyperbutler 322 MiB, Docker Desktop 1.7–2.7 GB.

Source

Disk 5 min after deleting ~5 GB of images: hyperbutler 1.5 GiB given back automatically, Docker Desktop 6.8 GiB kept.

Source

hyperbutler runs Linux containers with the Docker CLI and Compose, and that's it. If you need any of those other things, this isn't for you yet.

Source