How to connect to a docker container from outside the host (same network) [Windows]

Question

I've created my first docker container, it's running a server using Go but I can't access it from outside the host computer. I've just started with docker so I'm a little lost here.

So I have a very simple Go code that starts a server, I have built the docker image which installs Go and builds the code in a Linux base image. I'm running the server on port 8080 so I expose that port to the host running the container like this:

docker run -p 8080:8080 dockertest

That works and I get to access the server through docker's machine IP (the one that appears on the Docker Quickstart Terminal when initiated), the problem is I can't access the website I'm hosting from outside the host, so if I try to open the same IP address on my phone it just gives me an error: This webpage is not available (ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT).

I've also tried specifying the IP like this:

docker run -p 192.168.0.157:8080:8080 dockertest

But when I do that I can access the website through neither the docker machine's IP nor the specified IP on the command line above. I'm also not sure which IP I'm supposed to write in that command I used my computer's IP, I've also tried 127.0.0.1 (localhost) but that gave me the same result: couldn't access the website through any IP whatsoever.

I've googled this problem and found many StackOverflow questions but neither helped me solve my issue, most of them were oriented to Linux or Mac so the solution didn't apply to my situation.

Also, I can run the Go code on my computer and access the website from another device in the same network through my computer's IP. I don't understand why I can't access it when I'm running it in the docker machine, it occurred to me that it may have something to do with IP forwarding or something but I'm a complete noob in networking, I'm mostly a web developer and have almost no experience in native.

Answer 1

1. Open Oracle VM VirtualBox Manager
2. Select the VM used by Docker
3. Click Settings -> Network
4. Adapter 1 should (default?) be "Attached to: NAT"
5. Click Advanced -> Port Forwarding
6. Add rule: Protocol TCP, Host Port 8080, Guest Port 8080 (leave Host IP and Guest IP empty)
7. Guest is your docker container and Host is your machine

You should now be able to browse to your container via localhost:8080 and your-internal-ip:8080.