Repair Docker Scout CLI on Windows 10/11

A small, safe PowerShell helper that works around a Docker Desktop issue where the built-in updater fails to update Docker Scout CLI (example message: "Unable to install new update" / "An unexpected error occurred while updating").

This script installs the Docker Scout CLI plugin under your user profile and configures Docker Desktop to load it.

• Original issue: docker/for-win#14807
• My comment (workaround): docker/for-win#14807 (comment)
• Docker Scout CLI releases: https://github.com/docker/scout-cli/releases

What it does

• Detects your CPU architecture (amd64 or arm64) and selects the correct ZIP from the latest official Docker Scout CLI release.
• Downloads to a unique temp folder (does not overwrite existing files).
• Installs docker-scout.exe to %USERPROFILE%\.docker\scout (creates the folder if missing; skips if already installed).
• If an older version is installed, you'll be prompted to upgrade. If the installed version already matches the latest, no download occurs.
• Updates %USERPROFILE%\.docker\config.json to include:

  "cliPluginsExtraDirs": ["C:\\Users\\<you>\\.docker\\scout"]

  • Creates a timestamped backup before writing.
  • If already configured, leaves it unchanged.

Requirements

• Windows 10/11
• Windows PowerShell 5.1 (preinstalled with Windows). PowerShell 7+ is optional but supported.
• Internet connectivity to download from GitHub releases.

Quick run

Using Windows PowerShell 5.1 (cmd.exe or Windows Terminal):

powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command "iex (iwr -UseBasicParsing 'https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tataouinea/Repair-DockerScoutCLI/main/Repair-DockerScoutCLI.ps1')"

Using PowerShell 7+ (pwsh.exe):

pwsh -NoProfile -Command "iex (irm 'https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tataouinea/Repair-DockerScoutCLI/main/Repair-DockerScoutCLI.ps1')"

• Add -Yes to auto-confirm all prompts (non-interactive). Because iex executes the script immediately, the simplest way is to download to a temp file and run it with -Yes:

$src = 'https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tataouinea/Repair-DockerScoutCLI/main/Repair-DockerScoutCLI.ps1'
$tmp = Join-Path $env:TEMP 'Repair-DockerScoutCLI.ps1'
iwr -UseBasicParsing $src -OutFile $tmp
powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File $tmp -Yes

Note: When invoked via iex, the script runs immediately. It asks for confirmation before making changes unless -Yes is provided.

Manual run (clone or download)

# From the repo root
powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\Repair-DockerScoutCLI.ps1

Options:

• -Yes — auto-confirm all actions (useful for CI or non-interactive sessions)

Safety and idempotency

• No admin rights required; everything is under %USERPROFILE%.
• Creates backups of config.json with filenames like config.json.backup-by-Repair-DockerScoutCLI-YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS.json.
• Skips steps that are already satisfied (existing docker-scout.exe or config already set).
• Clear logging and comments in the script so you can audit what it does.

Verify it worked

1. Open Docker Desktop.
2. The faulty Scout CLI update notification should be gone.
3. You should now be able to upgrade Docker Desktop normally.

Rollback

• To undo the config change, restore the backup created in %USERPROFILE%\.docker (copy the backup file over config.json).
• You may also remove %USERPROFILE%\.docker\scout\docker-scout.exe if you want to fully revert the plugin installation.

Notes

• This script automatically fetches the latest available Docker Scout CLI version. It resolves https://github.com/docker/scout-cli/releases/latest, follows the redirect to a URL like .../releases/tag/v1.18.3, and extracts the version from that URL. No hard-coded version is used.
• If docker-scout.exe already exists, the script runs docker-scout.exe version to detect the installed version and compares it to the latest. It skips downloading when already up to date.
• The script supports both amd64 (x64) and arm64 Windows.

License

MIT