Docker desktop 4.47 window spawns multiple processes

[Elendiar]

Description

After the update to 4.47, when opening a desktop window, many unnecessary processes are created for a moment, which create a heavy load on the CPU, because they keep respawning every few sec utill window exists
These processes include docker-ai/scout/cloud/model..., despite being disabled in the settings. This happens constantly when the window is open, and after closing it, the behavior disappears. However, as soon as the window is opened, it resumes.

https://youtu.be/VDULxOXzgxg

Reproduce

1. run docker
2. open desktop window
3. watch a lot of spawned procceses
4. close window
5. all fine
6. repeat step 2 ...

Expected behavior

No response

docker version

Client:
 Version:           28.4.0
 API version:       1.51
 Go version:        go1.24.7
 Git commit:        d8eb465
 Built:             Wed Sep  3 20:59:40 2025
 OS/Arch:           windows/amd64
 Context:           desktop-linux

Server: Docker Desktop 4.47.0 (206054)
 Engine:
  Version:          28.4.0
  API version:      1.51 (minimum version 1.24)
  Go version:       go1.24.7
  Git commit:       249d679
  Built:            Wed Sep  3 20:57:37 2025
  OS/Arch:          linux/amd64
  Experimental:     false
 containerd:
  Version:          1.7.27
  GitCommit:        05044ec0a9a75232cad458027ca83437aae3f4da
 runc:
  Version:          1.2.5
  GitCommit:        v1.2.5-0-g59923ef
 docker-init:
  Version:          0.19.0
  GitCommit:        de40ad0

docker info

Client:
 Version:    28.4.0
 Context:    desktop-linux
 Debug Mode: false
 Plugins:
  ai: Docker AI Agent - Ask Gordon (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v1.9.11
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-ai.exe
  buildx: Docker Buildx (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.28.0-desktop.1
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-buildx.exe
  cloud: Docker Cloud (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.4.29
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-cloud.exe
  compose: Docker Compose (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v2.39.4-desktop.1
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-compose.exe
  debug: Get a shell into any image or container (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  0.0.42
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-debug.exe
  desktop: Docker Desktop commands (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.2.0
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-desktop.exe
  extension: Manages Docker extensions (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.2.31
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-extension.exe
  init: Creates Docker-related starter files for your project (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v1.4.0
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-init.exe
  mcp: Docker MCP Plugin (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.20.0
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-mcp.exe
  model: Docker Model Runner (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.1.41
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-model.exe
  offload: Docker Offload (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.4.18
    Path:     C:\Users\Mykyta.Nehrych\.docker\cli-plugins\docker-offload.exe
  sbom: View the packaged-based Software Bill Of Materials (SBOM) for an image (Anchore Inc.)
    Version:  0.6.0
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-sbom.exe
  scout: Docker Scout (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v1.18.3
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-scout.exe

Server:
 Containers: 37
  Running: 2
  Paused: 0
  Stopped: 35
 Images: 57
 Server Version: 28.4.0
 Storage Driver: overlayfs
  driver-type: io.containerd.snapshotter.v1
 Logging Driver: json-file
 Cgroup Driver: cgroupfs
 Cgroup Version: 2
 Plugins:
  Volume: local
  Network: bridge host ipvlan macvlan null overlay
  Log: awslogs fluentd gcplogs gelf journald json-file local splunk syslog
 CDI spec directories:
  /etc/cdi
  /var/run/cdi
 Discovered Devices:
  cdi: docker.com/gpu=webgpu
 Swarm: inactive
 Runtimes: io.containerd.runc.v2 nvidia runc
 Default Runtime: runc
 Init Binary: docker-init
 containerd version: 05044ec0a9a75232cad458027ca83437aae3f4da
 runc version: v1.2.5-0-g59923ef
 init version: de40ad0
 Security Options:
  seccomp
   Profile: builtin
  cgroupns
 Kernel Version: 6.6.87.2-microsoft-standard-WSL2
 Operating System: Docker Desktop
 OSType: linux
 Architecture: x86_64
 CPUs: 9
 Total Memory: 5.787GiB
 Name: docker-desktop
 ID: fd0e38b5-8cac-4e9a-bc74-9afd8199df1c
 Docker Root Dir: /var/lib/docker
 Debug Mode: false
 HTTP Proxy: http.docker.internal:3128
 HTTPS Proxy: http.docker.internal:3128
 No Proxy: hubproxy.docker.internal
 Labels:
  com.docker.desktop.address=npipe://\\.\pipe\docker_cli
 Experimental: false
 Insecure Registries:
  hubproxy.docker.internal:5555
  ::1/128
  127.0.0.0/8
 Live Restore Enabled: false

Diagnostics ID

docker desktop 4.47 window cause spawn lot of processes

Additional Info

No response

[mat007]

@Elendiar thanks for the report. Would you be able to collect diagnostics and paste the ID here, please?

[Elendiar]

@mat007 B85BCFAF-2314-49DD-9AB5-7D327737585F/20250929084042

[Sonicus]

I don't have to have the UI open and this happens. It keeps multiplying until the CPU is maxed out and I have to try to painstakingly try to kill the processes and hope to catch them all before they multiply again.

4.47 is completely unusable and bricked my work day until I fix this up. This is a paid product, so pretty annoying.

[wouterduckaert]

Similar phenomenon here.

• Yesterday and the day before (after an automatic update to 4.47.0, as well as Windows updates), my PC was unusable whenever Docker was running. Quitting Docker fixed the problem every time.
• After reading this post yesterday evening, I tried just closing the Docker Desktop window instead of quitting Docker entirely, and had no more issues.
• Now, when trying to reproduce it, I can still see the large number of processes spawning and my CPU usage increasing whenever I open the Docker Desktop window, but not to the degree where my PC becomes unusable.

Some thoughts about why I can't seem to reproduce it now (at least not to the degree where my PC becomes unusable):

• Part of me thinks that perhaps the largest impact may have been due to the company's antivirus freaking about about this behaviour and going into overdrive.
• Or there was something else going on that was already putting pressure onto the CPU.
• Perhaps I'm not leaving the Docker Desktop window open long enough now (though I've been trying).

Diagnostics report: 561E5DFB-20FA-4C3E-9990-545FC976C8D5/20251002104341

(I took the diagnostics report roughly 30 seconds after having opened the Docker Desktop window, I think.)

When looking at Windows Task Manager and filtering on "docker" processes, I can see a large number of processes suddenly appearing and then disappearing every 10 seconds or so, each time causing a massive spike in the CPU usage, often reaching 100%, then dropping back down, having started from 50-60% and returning to that after closing the Docker Desktop window. None of this happens while the window remains closed. (I did not run the diagnostics tool while making these observations.)

docker-desktop-processes-cpu-spike.mp4

Processor: 13th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-1370P 1.90 GHz
OS: Windows 11 Enterprise - Version 23H2 - OS build 22631.5909

docker version

Client:
 Version:           28.4.0
 API version:       1.51
 Go version:        go1.24.7
 Git commit:        d8eb465
 Built:             Wed Sep  3 20:59:40 2025
 OS/Arch:           windows/amd64
 Context:           desktop-linux

Server: Docker Desktop 4.47.0 (206054)
 Engine:
  Version:          28.4.0
  API version:      1.51 (minimum version 1.24)
  Go version:       go1.24.7
  Git commit:       249d679
  Built:            Wed Sep  3 20:57:37 2025
  OS/Arch:          linux/amd64
  Experimental:     false
 containerd:
  Version:          1.7.27
  GitCommit:        05044ec0a9a75232cad458027ca83437aae3f4da
 runc:
  Version:          1.2.5
  GitCommit:        v1.2.5-0-g59923ef
 docker-init:
  Version:          0.19.0
  GitCommit:        de40ad0

docker info

Client:
 Version:    28.4.0
 Context:    desktop-linux
 Debug Mode: false
 Plugins:
  ai: Docker AI Agent - Ask Gordon (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v1.9.11
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-ai.exe
  buildx: Docker Buildx (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.28.0-desktop.1
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-buildx.exe
  cloud: Docker Cloud (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.4.29
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-cloud.exe
  compose: Docker Compose (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v2.39.4-desktop.1
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-compose.exe
  debug: Get a shell into any image or container (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  0.0.42
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-debug.exe
  desktop: Docker Desktop commands (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.2.0
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-desktop.exe
  extension: Manages Docker extensions (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.2.31
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-extension.exe
  init: Creates Docker-related starter files for your project (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v1.4.0
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-init.exe
  mcp: Docker MCP Plugin (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.21.0
    Path:     C:\Users\wouter\.docker\cli-plugins\docker-mcp.exe
  model: Docker Model Runner (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.1.41
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-model.exe
  offload: Docker Offload (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.4.18
    Path:     C:\Users\wouter\.docker\cli-plugins\docker-offload.exe
  sbom: View the packaged-based Software Bill Of Materials (SBOM) for an image (Anchore Inc.)
    Version:  0.6.0
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-sbom.exe
  scout: Docker Scout (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v1.18.3
    Path:     C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-scout.exe

Server:
 Containers: 15
  Running: 15
  Paused: 0
  Stopped: 0
 Images: 32
 Server Version: 28.4.0
 Storage Driver: overlay2
  Backing Filesystem: extfs
  Supports d_type: true
  Using metacopy: false
  Native Overlay Diff: true
  userxattr: false
 Logging Driver: json-file
 Cgroup Driver: cgroupfs
 Cgroup Version: 2
 Plugins:
  Volume: local
  Network: bridge host ipvlan macvlan null overlay
  Log: awslogs fluentd gcplogs gelf journald json-file local splunk syslog
 CDI spec directories:
  /etc/cdi
  /var/run/cdi
 Discovered Devices:
  cdi: docker.com/gpu=webgpu
 Swarm: inactive
 Runtimes: io.containerd.runc.v2 nvidia runc
 Default Runtime: runc
 Init Binary: docker-init
 containerd version: 05044ec0a9a75232cad458027ca83437aae3f4da
 runc version: v1.2.5-0-g59923ef
 init version: de40ad0
 Security Options:
  seccomp
   Profile: builtin
  cgroupns
 Kernel Version: 6.6.87.1-microsoft-standard-WSL2
 Operating System: Docker Desktop
 OSType: linux
 Architecture: x86_64
 CPUs: 20
 Total Memory: 15.45GiB
 Name: docker-desktop
 ID: 23a76de7-dcf0-4ac6-849b-c99674c1f86c
 Docker Root Dir: /var/lib/docker
 Debug Mode: false
 HTTP Proxy: http.docker.internal:3128
 HTTPS Proxy: http.docker.internal:3128
 No Proxy: hubproxy.docker.internal
 Labels:
  com.docker.desktop.address=npipe://\\.\pipe\docker_cli
 Experimental: false
 Insecure Registries:
  hubproxy.docker.internal:5555
  ::1/128
  127.0.0.0/8
 Live Restore Enabled: false

[sulate]

I don't have to have the UI open and this happens. It keeps multiplying until the CPU is maxed out and I have to try to painstakingly try to kill the processes and hope to catch them all before they multiply again.

4.47 is completely unusable and bricked my work day until I fix this up. This is a paid product, so pretty annoying.

Yes. Same here. Completely ruining the work day! 🤬Who at Docker can I bill for the lost time!?

Installing previous version 4.46 works fine, but can't pin it as the stupid Docker folks force update to this completely broken version! I'm very mad and disappointed to them!!! (Yes I know I could hack the DLL, but this is company controlled computer, so it's a no-go.)

Please at least allow disabling forced updates to work around problems like this!

[mat007]

Hi, would you be able to double-click one of the spawned processes to take a look at its arguments?

@sulate I’m not sure which forced update you’re referring to. Do you have «Always download updates» enabled in the Software updates section of the Settings?

[Elendiar]

Hi, would you be able to double-click one of the spawned processes to take a look at its arguments?

All of them having the same arg: "C:\Program Files\Docker\cli-plugins\docker-init.exe" docker-cli-plugin-metadata

[simongoldstone]

Same here. Multiple copies of docker-compose, docker-scout, et. al.
Bricked my machine, all cores running at 100%.

Temporary workaround seems to help:

wsl --shutdown
taskkill /IM "docker-*.exe" /F

Turn off Scout & SBOM indexing
Settings → General: untick Docker Scout/SBOM/image analysis options (wording varies by tenant). These background analysers can spin up helper processes after builds/pulls.

Disable AI add-ons you don’t use
Settings → Beta / Features in development: turn off Model Runner and MCP Toolkit if enabled. These ship in recent builds and add background services/CLI plugins. Apply & Restart.

[Elendiar]

I checked, update 4.48.0 fixed this issue.