Server Setup - Install Docker on Ubuntu

This guide will walk you through the process of installing Docker on Ubuntu. Docker is a platform that enables you to automate the deployment of applications inside lightweight containers.

Prerequisites

• A system running Ubuntu
• A user account with sudo privileges
• Terminal access

Installation Steps

1. Install Required Packages

First, update your package index and install packages needed to use the Docker repository:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y ca-certificates curl gnupg

2. Add Docker’s Official GPG Key

Add Docker’s official GPG key to ensure package authenticity:

sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg
sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg

3. Set Up Docker Repository

Add the Docker repository to your system’s package sources:

echo \
  "deb [arch="$(dpkg --print-architecture)" signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu \
  "$(. /etc/os-release && echo "$VERSION_CODENAME")" stable" | \
  sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null

4. Install Docker Engine

Install Docker Engine, containerd, and Docker Compose:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

5. Configure User Permissions

Add your user to the Docker group to run Docker commands without sudo:

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

Note: You’ll need to log out and back in for the group changes to take effect.

6. Verify Installation

Test your Docker installation by running the hello-world container:

docker run hello-world

If successful, you’ll see a message like this:

Hello from Docker!
This message shows that your installation appears to be working correctly.

Congratulations! You’ve successfully installed Docker on your Ubuntu server.