# Upcoming Change: Docker Default Switching to Docker 28 This Monday

**URL:** <https://discuss.circleci.com/t/upcoming-change-docker-default-switching-to-docker-28-this-monday/54498>\
**Category:** Ecosystem\
**Tags:** remote-docker\
**Created:** [April 1, 2026, 1:34pm UTC](https://discuss.circleci.com/t/upcoming-change-docker-default-switching-to-docker-28-this-monday/54498 "2026-04-01T13:34:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ahmedwab](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/circleci/user_avatar/discuss.circleci.com/ahmedwab/32/35746_2.png) [@ahmedwab](https://discuss.circleci.com/u/ahmedwab)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2026, 1:34pm UTC](https://discuss.circleci.com/t/upcoming-change-docker-default-switching-to-docker-28-this-monday/54498/1 "2026-04-01T13:34:52Z")

</div>

Hey Everyone!

We wanted to give you a heads up that we are switching `docker-default` to **Docker 28 this Monday**. Our goal is to eventually move the default to Docker 29 as well, but more on that below.

## What’s changing and when

**This Monday** , `docker-default` will be updated to point to Docker 28. If you are not explicitly specifying a Docker version in your config, your jobs will automatically start using Docker 28.

## What you should do before Monday

We strongly recommend getting ahead of this change by explicitly pinning your Docker version in your `.circleci/config.yml` now:

- **Want to move to Docker 28 or 29 today?** Pin to `docker28` or `docker29` and start testing now.
- **Want to stay on Docker 27 after the switch?** Pin to `docker27` so your jobs are not affected when we change the default.

```yaml
version: 2.1

jobs:
  build:
    docker:
      - image: cimg/base:2026.03
    steps:
      - setup_remote_docker:
          version: docker28 # or docker27, docker29
      - run: docker run hello-world

```

Explicitly pinning a version means you stay in control and won’t be impacted by any future default changes.

## Why not Docker 29 straight away?

When we previously attempted to set Docker 29 as the default, we found that some convenience images (cimgs) – specifically `cimg/redis`, `cimg/postgres`, and `cimg/openjdk` – ship with an older Docker client that is incompatible with the Docker 29 daemon. Jobs using these images that did not explicitly specify a Docker version started failing with the following error:

```auto
[+] Building 0.0s (0/0) docker:default
ERROR: Error response from daemon: client version 1.43 is too old. Minimum supported API version is 1.44, please upgrade your client to a newer version: driver not connecting
Exited with code exit status 1

```

Docker 28 passes all our tests including with those cimgs, so it is the safe choice for an interim default. We are working on updated cimgs that will be compatible with Docker 29, and once those are available we will move the default to Docker 29 and post another announcement here.

## Summary

| Scenario | What to do |
| --- | --- |
| Want to test Docker 28 or 29 now | Pin `version: docker28` or `version: docker29` |
| Want to stay on Docker 27 after Monday | Pin `version: docker27` |
| Happy to follow the default | No action needed, you’ll be on Docker 28 after Monday |

Let us know if you have any questions!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ahmedwab](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/circleci/user_avatar/discuss.circleci.com/ahmedwab/32/35746_2.png) [@ahmedwab](https://discuss.circleci.com/u/ahmedwab)\
**Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 6:46pm UTC](https://discuss.circleci.com/t/upcoming-change-docker-default-switching-to-docker-28-this-monday/54498/2 "2026-04-06T18:46:42Z")

</div>

Update:

The change is now live. docker-default has been updated to point to Docker 28 for all resource classes, including Gen2.

If you run into any issues, please reply to this thread. As a reminder:

- Pin version: docker27 to stay on Docker 27
- Pin version: docker29 to opt into Docker 29 early

We plan to move docker-default to Docker 29 once compatibility with affected convenience images (cimg/redis, cimg/postgres, cimg/openjdk) is resolved. We’ll post another update here  
when that happens.