Install Docker Engine on Ubuntu/Debian: Step-by-Step Guide

This guide walks you through installing Docker Engine and Docker Compose on Ubuntu/Debian systems using Docker's official repository. Follow the steps in order.

1. Remove conflicting packages

First, remove any older or conflicting Docker-related packages:

sudo apt remove docker.io docker-compose docker-compose-v2 docker-doc docker-buildx podman-docker containerd runc

It's okay if some of these packages aren't installed — the command will just skip them.

2. Add Docker's official repository

Update your package list:

sudo apt update

Install the required dependencies and add Docker's GPG key:

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

Then add the repository to your APT sources:

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

Update again so APT picks up the new repository:

sudo apt update

3. Install Docker + Compose

Install the official Docker Engine packages, including Buildx and modern docker compose:

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

4. Allow your user to run Docker without sudo

Add your user to the docker group:

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

Then either log out and log back in, or run:

newgrp docker

Docker documents this as the standard post-install setup for running Docker commands as a non-root user.

5. Test

Verify the installation:

docker --version
docker compose version
docker run hello-world

You should now be able to use commands like:

docker ps
docker images
docker compose up -d
docker compose down

6. Check the Docker service

Confirm the Docker service is running:

sudo systemctl status docker

On Debian/Ubuntu-based systems, Docker normally starts automatically after installation.