To get started with Docker Engine on Ubuntu, make sure youmeet the prerequisites, and then follow theinstallation steps.
PrerequisitesFirewall limitationsWarning
Before you install Docker, make sure you consider the followingsecurity implications and firewall incompatibilities.
If you use ufw or firewalld to manage firewall settings, be aware thatwhen you expose container ports using Docker, these ports bypass yourfirewall rules. For more information, refer toDocker and ufw.Docker is only compatible with iptables-nft and iptables-legacy.Firewall rules created with nft are not supported on a system with Docker installed.Make sure that any firewall rulesets you use are created with iptables or ip6tables,and that you add them to the DOCKER-USER chain,seePacket filtering and firewalls.OS requirementsTo install Docker Engine, you need the 64-bit version of one of these Ubuntuversions:
Ubuntu Oracular 24.10Ubuntu Noble 24.04 (LTS)Ubuntu Jammy 22.04 (LTS)Ubuntu Focal 20.04 (LTS)Docker Engine for Ubuntu is compatible with x86_64 (or amd64), armhf, arm64,s390x, and ppc64le (ppc64el) architectures.
Uninstall old versionsBefore you can install Docker Engine, you need to uninstall any conflicting packages.
Distro maintainers provide unofficial distributions of Docker packages inAPT. You must uninstall these packages before you can install the officialversion of Docker Engine.
The unofficial packages to uninstall are:
docker.iodocker-composedocker-compose-v2docker-docpodman-dockerMoreover, Docker Engine depends on containerd and runc. Docker Enginebundles these dependencies as one bundle: containerd.io. If you haveinstalled the containerd or runc previously, uninstall them to avoidconflicts with the versions bundled with Docker Engine.
Run the following command to uninstall all conflicting packages:
$ for pkg in docker.io docker-doc docker-compose docker-compose-v2 podman-docker containerd runc; do sudo apt-get remove $pkg; doneapt-get might report that you have none of these packages installed.
Images, containers, volumes, and networks stored in /var/lib/docker/ aren'tautomatically removed when you uninstall Docker. If you want to start with aclean installation, and prefer to clean up any existing data, read theuninstall Docker Engine section.
Installation methodsYou can install Docker Engine in different ways, depending on your needs:
Docker Engine comes bundled withDocker Desktop for Linux. This isthe easiest and quickest way to get started.
Set up and install Docker Engine fromDocker's apt repository.
Install it manually and manage upgrades manually.
Use aconvenience script. Onlyrecommended for testing and development environments.
Install using the apt repositoryBefore you install Docker Engine for the first time on a new host machine, youneed to set up the Docker repository. Afterward, you can install and updateDocker from the repository.
Set up Docker's apt repository.
# Add Docker's official GPG key:sudo apt-get updatesudo apt-get install ca-certificates curlsudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyringssudo curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.ascsudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc# Add the repository to Apt sources:echo \ "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu \ $(. /etc/os-release && echo "$VERSION_CODENAME") stable" | \ sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/nullsudo apt-get updateNote
If you use an Ubuntu derivative distro, such as Linux Mint,you may need to use UBUNTU_CODENAME instead of VERSION_CODENAME.
Install the Docker packages.
To install the latest version, run:
$ sudo apt-get install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-pluginTo install a specific version of Docker Engine, start by listing theavailable versions in the repository:
# List the available versions:$ apt-cache madison docker-ce | awk '{ print $3 }'5:27.3.1-1~ubuntu.24.04~noble5:27.3.0-1~ubuntu.24.04~noble...Select the desired version and install:
$ VERSION_STRING=5:27.1.1-1~ubuntu.24.04~noble$ sudo apt-get install docker-ce=$VERSION_STRING docker-ce-cli=$VERSION_STRING containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-pluginVerify that the Docker Engine installation is successful by running thehello-world image.
$ sudo docker run hello-worldThis command downloads a test image and runs it in a container. When thecontainer runs, it prints a confirmation message and exits.
You have now successfully installed and started Docker Engine.
Tip
Receiving errors when trying to run without root?
The docker user group exists but contains no users, which is why you’re requiredto use sudo to run Docker commands. Continue toLinux postinstallto allow non-privileged users to run Docker commands and for other optional configuration steps.
Upgrade Docker EngineTo upgrade Docker Engine, follow step 2 of theinstallation instructions,choosing the new version you want to install.
Install from a packageIf you can't use Docker's apt repository to install Docker Engine, you candownload the deb file for your release and install it manually. You need todownload a new file each time you want to upgrade Docker Engine.
Go tohttps://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/dists/.
Select your Ubuntu version in the list.
Go to pool/stable/ and select the applicable architecture (amd64,armhf, arm64, or s390x).
Download the following deb files for the Docker Engine, CLI, containerd,and Docker Compose packages:
containerd.io__.debdocker-ce__.debdocker-ce-cli__.debdocker-buildx-plugin__.debdocker-compose-plugin__.debInstall the .deb packages. Update the paths in the following example towhere you downloaded the Docker packages.
$ sudo dpkg -i ./containerd.io__.deb \ ./docker-ce__.deb \ ./docker-ce-cli__.deb \ ./docker-buildx-plugin__.deb \ ./docker-compose-plugin__.debThe Docker daemon starts automatically.
Verify that the Docker Engine installation is successful by running thehello-world image.
$ sudo service docker start$ sudo docker run hello-worldThis command downloads a test image and runs it in a container. When thecontainer runs, it prints a confirmation message and exits.
You have now successfully installed and started Docker Engine.
Tip
Receiving errors when trying to run without root?
The docker user group exists but contains no users, which is why you’re requiredto use sudo to run Docker commands. Continue toLinux postinstallto allow non-privileged users to run Docker commands and for other optional configuration steps.
Upgrade Docker EngineTo upgrade Docker Engine, download the newer package files and repeat theinstallation procedure, pointing to the new files.
Install using the convenience scriptDocker provides a convenience script athttps://get.docker.com/ to install Docker intodevelopment environments non-interactively. The convenience script isn'trecommended for production environments, but it's useful for creating aprovisioning script tailored to your needs. Also refer to theinstall using the repository steps to learnabout installation steps to install using the package repository. The source codefor the script is open source, and you can find it in thedocker-install repository on GitHub.
Always examine scripts downloaded from the internet before running them locally.Before installing, make yourself familiar with potential risks and limitationsof the convenience script:
The script requires root or sudo privileges to run.The script attempts to detect your Linux distribution and version andconfigure your package management system for you.The script doesn't allow you to customize most installation parameters.The script installs dependencies and recommendations without asking forconfirmation. This may install a large number of packages, depending on thecurrent configuration of your host machine.By default, the script installs the latest stable release of Docker,containerd, and runc. When using this script to provision a machine, this mayresult in unexpected major version upgrades of Docker. Always test upgrades ina test environment before deploying to your production systems.The script isn't designed to upgrade an existing Docker installation. Whenusing the script to update an existing installation, dependencies may not beupdated to the expected version, resulting in outdated versions.Tip: preview script steps before running
You can run the script with the --dry-run option to learn what steps thescript will run when invoked:
$ curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh$ sudo sh ./get-docker.sh --dry-runThis example downloads the script fromhttps://get.docker.com/ and runs it to install thelatest stable release of Docker on Linux:
$ curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh$ sudo sh get-docker.shExecuting docker install script, commit: 7cae5f8b0decc17d6571f9f52eb840fbc13b2737You have now successfully installed and started Docker Engine. The dockerservice starts automatically on Debian based distributions. On RPM baseddistributions, such as CentOS, Fedora, RHEL or SLES, you need to start itmanually using the appropriate systemctl or service command. As the messageindicates, non-root users can't run Docker commands by default.
Use Docker as a non-privileged user, or install in rootless mode?
The installation script requires root or sudo privileges to install anduse Docker. If you want to grant non-root users access to Docker, refer to thepost-installation steps for Linux.You can also install Docker without root privileges, or configured to run inrootless mode. For instructions on running Docker in rootless mode, refer torun the Docker daemon as a non-root user (rootless mode).
Install pre-releasesDocker also provides a convenience script athttps://test.docker.com/ to install pre-releases ofDocker on Linux. This script is equal to the script at get.docker.com, butconfigures your package manager to use the test channel of the Docker packagerepository. The test channel includes both stable and pre-releases (betaversions, release-candidates) of Docker. Use this script to get early access tonew releases, and to evaluate them in a testing environment before they'rereleased as stable.
To install the latest version of Docker on Linux from the test channel, run:
$ curl -fsSL https://test.docker.com -o test-docker.sh$ sudo sh test-docker.shUpgrade Docker after using the convenience scriptIf you installed Docker using the convenience script, you should upgrade Dockerusing your package manager directly. There's no advantage to re-running theconvenience script. Re-running it can cause issues if it attempts to re-installrepositories which already exist on the host machine.
Uninstall Docker EngineUninstall the Docker Engine, CLI, containerd, and Docker Compose packages:
$ sudo apt-get purge docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin docker-ce-rootless-extrasImages, containers, volumes, or custom configuration files on your hostaren't automatically removed. To delete all images, containers, and volumes:
$ sudo rm -rf /var/lib/docker$ sudo rm -rf /var/lib/containerdYou have to delete any edited configuration files manually.
Next stepsContinue toPost-installation steps for Linux.