diff --git a/CHANGELOG.next.asciidoc b/CHANGELOG.next.asciidoc
index d4490358bae6..ff3e2f081146 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.next.asciidoc
+++ b/CHANGELOG.next.asciidoc
@@ -244,6 +244,7 @@ https://github.com/elastic/beats/compare/v7.0.0-alpha2...master[Check the HEAD d
 - add_host_metadata is no GA. {pull}13148[13148]
 - Add `registered_domain` processor for deriving the registered domain from a given FQDN. {pull}13326[13326]
 - Add support for RFC3339 time zone offsets in JSON output. {pull}13227[13227]
+- Add autodetection mode for add_docker_metadata and enable it by default in included configuration files{pull}13374[13374]
 
 *Auditbeat*
 
diff --git a/auditbeat/auditbeat.docker.yml b/auditbeat/auditbeat.docker.yml
index 3178297b6f73..a012bbb6aad9 100644
--- a/auditbeat/auditbeat.docker.yml
+++ b/auditbeat/auditbeat.docker.yml
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ auditbeat.modules:
     - /etc
 processors:
 - add_cloud_metadata: ~
+- add_docker_metadata: ~
 
 output.elasticsearch:
   hosts: '${ELASTICSEARCH_HOSTS:elasticsearch:9200}'
diff --git a/auditbeat/auditbeat.yml b/auditbeat/auditbeat.yml
index c0b05dff9e72..ce7d69b97bed 100644
--- a/auditbeat/auditbeat.yml
+++ b/auditbeat/auditbeat.yml
@@ -148,6 +148,7 @@ output.elasticsearch:
 processors:
   - add_host_metadata: ~
   - add_cloud_metadata: ~
+  - add_docker_metadata: ~
 
 #================================ Logging =====================================
 
diff --git a/filebeat/filebeat.docker.yml b/filebeat/filebeat.docker.yml
index 99cf52e1cb66..983e8c5c497b 100644
--- a/filebeat/filebeat.docker.yml
+++ b/filebeat/filebeat.docker.yml
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ filebeat.config:
 
 processors:
 - add_cloud_metadata: ~
+- add_docker_metadata: ~
 
 output.elasticsearch:
   hosts: '${ELASTICSEARCH_HOSTS:elasticsearch:9200}'
diff --git a/filebeat/filebeat.yml b/filebeat/filebeat.yml
index e2aeca00f331..e799f3d9c427 100644
--- a/filebeat/filebeat.yml
+++ b/filebeat/filebeat.yml
@@ -176,6 +176,7 @@ output.elasticsearch:
 processors:
   - add_host_metadata: ~
   - add_cloud_metadata: ~
+  - add_docker_metadata: ~
 
 #================================ Logging =====================================
 
diff --git a/heartbeat/heartbeat.docker.yml b/heartbeat/heartbeat.docker.yml
index 2302283f674f..59636766d7f6 100644
--- a/heartbeat/heartbeat.docker.yml
+++ b/heartbeat/heartbeat.docker.yml
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ heartbeat.monitors:
 
 processors:
 - add_cloud_metadata: ~
+- add_docker_metadata: ~
 
 output.elasticsearch:
   hosts: '${ELASTICSEARCH_HOSTS:elasticsearch:9200}'
diff --git a/heartbeat/heartbeat.yml b/heartbeat/heartbeat.yml
index ac6a7bfa5e28..6a3749550de1 100644
--- a/heartbeat/heartbeat.yml
+++ b/heartbeat/heartbeat.yml
@@ -117,9 +117,9 @@ output.elasticsearch:
 #================================ Processors =====================================
 
 processors:
-  - add_observer_metadata: 
+  - add_observer_metadata:
   # Optional, but recommended geo settings for the location Heartbeat is running in
-  #geo: 
+  #geo:
     # Token describing this location
     #name: us-east-1a
 
diff --git a/journalbeat/journalbeat.docker.yml b/journalbeat/journalbeat.docker.yml
index a1e67c0d9618..5e723c7a0d24 100644
--- a/journalbeat/journalbeat.docker.yml
+++ b/journalbeat/journalbeat.docker.yml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ journalbeat.inputs:
 
 processors:
 - add_cloud_metadata: ~
+- add_docker_metadata: ~
 
 output.elasticsearch:
   hosts: '${ELASTICSEARCH_HOSTS:elasticsearch:9200}'
diff --git a/journalbeat/journalbeat.yml b/journalbeat/journalbeat.yml
index a7146f1867d5..b96c8dabe179 100644
--- a/journalbeat/journalbeat.yml
+++ b/journalbeat/journalbeat.yml
@@ -145,6 +145,7 @@ output.elasticsearch:
 processors:
   - add_host_metadata: ~
   - add_cloud_metadata: ~
+  - add_docker_metadata: ~
 
 #================================ Logging =====================================
 
diff --git a/libbeat/_meta/config.docker.yml b/libbeat/_meta/config.docker.yml
index 241ec9906721..6ce79dc1c427 100644
--- a/libbeat/_meta/config.docker.yml
+++ b/libbeat/_meta/config.docker.yml
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 processors:
 - add_cloud_metadata: ~
+- add_docker_metadata: ~
 
 output.elasticsearch:
   hosts: '${ELASTICSEARCH_HOSTS:elasticsearch:9200}'
diff --git a/libbeat/_meta/config.yml.tmpl b/libbeat/_meta/config.yml.tmpl
index 746f7511c01f..c862ed16c30b 100644
--- a/libbeat/_meta/config.yml.tmpl
+++ b/libbeat/_meta/config.yml.tmpl
@@ -93,11 +93,12 @@ output.elasticsearch:
 processors:
   - add_host_metadata: ~
   - add_cloud_metadata: ~
+  - add_docker_metadata: ~
 {{else}}
 processors:
-  - add_observer_metadata: 
+  - add_observer_metadata:
   # Optional, but recommended geo settings for the location {{ .BeatName | title }} is running in
-  #geo: 
+  #geo:
     # Token describing this location
     #name: us-east-1a
 
diff --git a/libbeat/common/docker/watcher.go b/libbeat/common/docker/watcher.go
index fb862957094d..61b69c37e210 100644
--- a/libbeat/common/docker/watcher.go
+++ b/libbeat/common/docker/watcher.go
@@ -132,6 +132,12 @@ func NewWatcher(host string, tls *TLSConfig, storeShortID bool) (Watcher, error)
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
+	// Extra check to confirm that Docker is available
+	_, err = client.Info(context.Background())
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
 	return NewWatcherWithClient(client, 60*time.Second, storeShortID)
 }
 
diff --git a/libbeat/processors/add_docker_metadata/add_docker_metadata.go b/libbeat/processors/add_docker_metadata/add_docker_metadata.go
index 24012422fc8f..70b2aaa5e50a 100644
--- a/libbeat/processors/add_docker_metadata/add_docker_metadata.go
+++ b/libbeat/processors/add_docker_metadata/add_docker_metadata.go
@@ -57,10 +57,11 @@ type addDockerMetadata struct {
 	fields          []string
 	sourceProcessor processors.Processor
 
-	pidFields []string      // Field names that contain PIDs.
-	cgroups   *common.Cache // Cache of PID (int) to cgropus (map[string]string).
-	hostFS    string        // Directory where /proc is found
-	dedot     bool          // If set to true, replace dots in labels with `_`.
+	pidFields       []string      // Field names that contain PIDs.
+	cgroups         *common.Cache // Cache of PID (int) to cgropus (map[string]string).
+	hostFS          string        // Directory where /proc is found
+	dedot           bool          // If set to true, replace dots in labels with `_`.
+	dockerAvailable bool          // If Docker exists in env, then it is set to true
 }
 
 // New constructs a new add_docker_metadata processor.
@@ -74,13 +75,19 @@ func buildDockerMetadataProcessor(cfg *common.Config, watcherConstructor docker.
 		return nil, errors.Wrapf(err, "fail to unpack the %v configuration", processorName)
 	}
 
+	var dockerAvailable bool
+
 	watcher, err := watcherConstructor(config.Host, config.TLS, config.MatchShortID)
 	if err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-
-	if err = watcher.Start(); err != nil {
-		return nil, err
+		dockerAvailable = false
+		errorMsg := fmt.Sprintf("%v: docker environment not detected: %v", processorName, err)
+		logp.Debug("add_docker_metadata", errorMsg)
+	} else {
+		dockerAvailable = true
+		logp.Debug("add_docker_metadata", "%v: docker environment detected", processorName)
+		if err = watcher.Start(); err != nil {
+			return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to start watcher")
+		}
 	}
 
 	// Use extract_field processor to get container ID from source file path.
@@ -106,6 +113,7 @@ func buildDockerMetadataProcessor(cfg *common.Config, watcherConstructor docker.
 		pidFields:       config.MatchPIDs,
 		hostFS:          config.HostFS,
 		dedot:           config.DeDot,
+		dockerAvailable: dockerAvailable,
 	}, nil
 }
 
@@ -121,8 +129,12 @@ func lazyCgroupCacheInit(d *addDockerMetadata) {
 }
 
 func (d *addDockerMetadata) Run(event *beat.Event) (*beat.Event, error) {
+	if !d.dockerAvailable {
+		return event, nil
+	}
 	var cid string
 	var err error
+
 	// Extract CID from the filepath contained in the "log.file.path" field.
 	if d.sourceProcessor != nil {
 		lfp, _ := event.Fields.GetValue("log.file.path")
diff --git a/libbeat/processors/add_docker_metadata/add_docker_metadata_test.go b/libbeat/processors/add_docker_metadata/add_docker_metadata_test.go
index a6973dedbb83..7fc1c00338e7 100644
--- a/libbeat/processors/add_docker_metadata/add_docker_metadata_test.go
+++ b/libbeat/processors/add_docker_metadata/add_docker_metadata_test.go
@@ -52,6 +52,20 @@ func init() {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestInitializationNoDocker(t *testing.T) {
+	var testConfig = common.NewConfig()
+	testConfig.SetString("host", -1, "unix:///var/run42/docker.sock")
+
+	p, err := buildDockerMetadataProcessor(testConfig, docker.NewWatcher)
+	assert.NoError(t, err, "initializing add_docker_metadata processor")
+
+	input := common.MapStr{}
+	result, err := p.Run(&beat.Event{Fields: input})
+	assert.NoError(t, err, "processing an event")
+
+	assert.Equal(t, common.MapStr{}, result.Fields)
+}
+
 func TestInitialization(t *testing.T) {
 	var testConfig = common.NewConfig()
 
diff --git a/metricbeat/metricbeat.docker.yml b/metricbeat/metricbeat.docker.yml
index 982018eefc7a..c34f0f55fcfa 100644
--- a/metricbeat/metricbeat.docker.yml
+++ b/metricbeat/metricbeat.docker.yml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ metricbeat.config.modules:
 
 processors:
 - add_cloud_metadata: ~
+- add_docker_metadata: ~
 
 output.elasticsearch:
   hosts: '${ELASTICSEARCH_HOSTS:elasticsearch:9200}'
diff --git a/metricbeat/metricbeat.yml b/metricbeat/metricbeat.yml
index 6f39612eba5d..56038f8f0450 100644
--- a/metricbeat/metricbeat.yml
+++ b/metricbeat/metricbeat.yml
@@ -120,6 +120,7 @@ output.elasticsearch:
 processors:
   - add_host_metadata: ~
   - add_cloud_metadata: ~
+  - add_docker_metadata: ~
 
 #================================ Logging =====================================
 
diff --git a/packetbeat/packetbeat.docker.yml b/packetbeat/packetbeat.docker.yml
index b99d6f670b29..a2a6f8c33b9f 100644
--- a/packetbeat/packetbeat.docker.yml
+++ b/packetbeat/packetbeat.docker.yml
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ packetbeat.protocols.tls:
 
 processors:
 - add_cloud_metadata: ~
+- add_docker_metadata: ~
 
 output.elasticsearch:
   hosts: '${ELASTICSEARCH_HOSTS:elasticsearch:9200}'
diff --git a/packetbeat/packetbeat.yml b/packetbeat/packetbeat.yml
index 3032364b4a69..a7e18cba72f8 100644
--- a/packetbeat/packetbeat.yml
+++ b/packetbeat/packetbeat.yml
@@ -202,6 +202,7 @@ output.elasticsearch:
 processors:
   - add_host_metadata: ~
   - add_cloud_metadata: ~
+  - add_docker_metadata: ~
 
 #================================ Logging =====================================
 
diff --git a/winlogbeat/winlogbeat.yml b/winlogbeat/winlogbeat.yml
index 7161bc78e77a..84cd4613fbe7 100644
--- a/winlogbeat/winlogbeat.yml
+++ b/winlogbeat/winlogbeat.yml
@@ -127,6 +127,7 @@ output.elasticsearch:
 processors:
   - add_host_metadata: ~
   - add_cloud_metadata: ~
+  - add_docker_metadata: ~
 
 #================================ Logging =====================================
 
diff --git a/x-pack/auditbeat/auditbeat.docker.yml b/x-pack/auditbeat/auditbeat.docker.yml
index 3178297b6f73..a012bbb6aad9 100644
--- a/x-pack/auditbeat/auditbeat.docker.yml
+++ b/x-pack/auditbeat/auditbeat.docker.yml
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ auditbeat.modules:
     - /etc
 processors:
 - add_cloud_metadata: ~
+- add_docker_metadata: ~
 
 output.elasticsearch:
   hosts: '${ELASTICSEARCH_HOSTS:elasticsearch:9200}'
diff --git a/x-pack/auditbeat/auditbeat.yml b/x-pack/auditbeat/auditbeat.yml
index ed5fe117180a..f0e61f8033bf 100644
--- a/x-pack/auditbeat/auditbeat.yml
+++ b/x-pack/auditbeat/auditbeat.yml
@@ -170,6 +170,7 @@ output.elasticsearch:
 processors:
   - add_host_metadata: ~
   - add_cloud_metadata: ~
+  - add_docker_metadata: ~
 
 #================================ Logging =====================================
 
diff --git a/x-pack/filebeat/filebeat.docker.yml b/x-pack/filebeat/filebeat.docker.yml
index 99cf52e1cb66..983e8c5c497b 100644
--- a/x-pack/filebeat/filebeat.docker.yml
+++ b/x-pack/filebeat/filebeat.docker.yml
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ filebeat.config:
 
 processors:
 - add_cloud_metadata: ~
+- add_docker_metadata: ~
 
 output.elasticsearch:
   hosts: '${ELASTICSEARCH_HOSTS:elasticsearch:9200}'
diff --git a/x-pack/filebeat/filebeat.yml b/x-pack/filebeat/filebeat.yml
index e2aeca00f331..e799f3d9c427 100644
--- a/x-pack/filebeat/filebeat.yml
+++ b/x-pack/filebeat/filebeat.yml
@@ -176,6 +176,7 @@ output.elasticsearch:
 processors:
   - add_host_metadata: ~
   - add_cloud_metadata: ~
+  - add_docker_metadata: ~
 
 #================================ Logging =====================================
 
diff --git a/x-pack/functionbeat/functionbeat.yml b/x-pack/functionbeat/functionbeat.yml
index 19d9da1bbdb4..559f9b581e0f 100644
--- a/x-pack/functionbeat/functionbeat.yml
+++ b/x-pack/functionbeat/functionbeat.yml
@@ -344,6 +344,7 @@ output.elasticsearch:
 processors:
   - add_host_metadata: ~
   - add_cloud_metadata: ~
+  - add_docker_metadata: ~
 
 #================================ Logging =====================================
 
diff --git a/x-pack/metricbeat/metricbeat.docker.yml b/x-pack/metricbeat/metricbeat.docker.yml
index 982018eefc7a..c34f0f55fcfa 100644
--- a/x-pack/metricbeat/metricbeat.docker.yml
+++ b/x-pack/metricbeat/metricbeat.docker.yml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ metricbeat.config.modules:
 
 processors:
 - add_cloud_metadata: ~
+- add_docker_metadata: ~
 
 output.elasticsearch:
   hosts: '${ELASTICSEARCH_HOSTS:elasticsearch:9200}'
diff --git a/x-pack/metricbeat/metricbeat.yml b/x-pack/metricbeat/metricbeat.yml
index 6f39612eba5d..56038f8f0450 100644
--- a/x-pack/metricbeat/metricbeat.yml
+++ b/x-pack/metricbeat/metricbeat.yml
@@ -120,6 +120,7 @@ output.elasticsearch:
 processors:
   - add_host_metadata: ~
   - add_cloud_metadata: ~
+  - add_docker_metadata: ~
 
 #================================ Logging =====================================
 
diff --git a/x-pack/winlogbeat/winlogbeat.yml b/x-pack/winlogbeat/winlogbeat.yml
index b1771b322e2f..1e1efb1d797d 100644
--- a/x-pack/winlogbeat/winlogbeat.yml
+++ b/x-pack/winlogbeat/winlogbeat.yml
@@ -139,6 +139,7 @@ output.elasticsearch:
 processors:
   - add_host_metadata: ~
   - add_cloud_metadata: ~
+  - add_docker_metadata: ~
 
 #================================ Logging =====================================