Ubuntu 22.04 Install Docker & Docker Compose

Install Docker & Docker Compose on Ubuntu 22.04

Update System

Open the terminal and run:

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sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade
sudo apt full-upgrade

Add Docker Repository and Prerequisites

  1. Install required packages and HTTPS support:

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    sudo apt install apt-transport-https ca-certificates curl software-properties-common gnupg lsb-release

  2. Add Docker’s official GPG key:

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    curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/docker-archive-keyring.gpg

  3. Add Docker APT repository:

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    echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/docker-archive-keyring.gpg] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu $(lsb_release -cs) stable" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null

  1. Update apt package index:

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    sudo apt update

Install Docker

Install Latest Docker CE

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sudo apt install docker-ce

# Additional
sudo apt install docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-compose-plugin

Question: Why do I need to install the following packages: docker-ce-cli, containerd.io, docker-compose-plugin?

Answer: you’re actually installing different components of Docker, not just “Docker itself.”

🔹 1. docker-ce

  • Docker Community Edition (CE) – the core Docker engine (daemon).
  • This is what actually runs containers in the background.

🔹 2. docker-ce-cli

  • The command-line client (docker command).

  • Without this, you wouldn’t be able to run commands like:

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    docker ps
    docker run
    docker build

  • It talks to the Docker daemon (dockerd) and controls containers.

🔹 3. containerd.io

  • A container runtime that Docker uses under the hood.
  • Think of it as the low-level tool that manages container execution, snapshots, images, etc.
  • Docker relies on it for actually starting/stopping containers.

🔹 4. docker-compose-plugin

  • Provides the new docker compose command (note: without the dash).

  • Example:

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    docker compose up -d

  • This replaces the old standalone docker-compose binary.

  • It’s maintained directly by Docker, so it integrates better with the Docker CLI.

✅ In short:

  • docker-ce = Docker engine (daemon)
  • docker-ce-cli = CLI tool (docker)
  • containerd.io = container runtime (engine under the engine)
  • docker-compose-plugin = modern Compose integration

👉 You technically could skip some of these, but:

  • Without docker-ce-cli → you can’t run Docker commands.
  • Without containerd.io → the engine can’t launch containers.
  • Without docker-compose-plugin → you won’t have Compose (unless you install the old binary).

Install a Specific Version

To install a specific version, first list available versions:

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apt-cache madison docker-ce

Example output:

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docker-ce | 5:20.10.17~3-0~ubuntu-jammy | https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu jammy/stable amd64 Packages
docker-ce | 5:20.10.16~3-0~ubuntu-jammy | https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu jammy/stable amd64 Packages
docker-ce | 5:20.10.15~3-0~ubuntu-jammy | https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu jammy/stable amd64 Packages
...

Choose a version, for example 5:20.10.16:

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sudo apt install docker-ce=5:20.10.16~3-0~ubuntu-jammy docker-ce-cli=5:20.10.16~3-0~ubuntu-jammy containerd.io

Check Docker Status

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systemctl status docker.service

Example output (key part):

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docker.service - Docker Application Container Engine
Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/docker.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
Active: active (running) since ...
...

If not running, start Docker:

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sudo systemctl start docker

Enable auto-start at boot:

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sudo systemctl enable docker

Install Docker Compose (Standalone)

  1. Download the binary (example: v2.18.1):

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    sudo curl -L "https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/download/v2.18.1/docker-compose-$(uname -s)-$(uname -m)" -o /usr/local/bin/docker-compose

  2. Apply execution permission:

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    sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/docker-compose

Run Docker Without sudo

By default, Docker commands require sudo. To allow your user to run Docker commands without sudo, add your user to the docker group:

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sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
  • Replace $USER with your actual username if needed, for example:
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sudo usermod -aG docker user
  • After running this command, log out and log back in, or restart the terminal/CLI to apply the changes.