Ubuntu 24.04 Install Docker & Docker Compose

I’m running an Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (Noble) server on an AWS t3.large instance, and I need Docker to manage containers for my applications. In this guide, I’ll walk through the exact steps to install Docker and Docker Compose on Ubuntu 24.04, configure it to start on boot, and allow it to run without sudo.

Update System

Before installing, always update your package lists:

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sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt full-upgrade -y

Add Docker Repository and Prerequisites

  1. Install required packages:

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    sudo apt install -y 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 the Docker 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

  4. Update apt index again:

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    sudo apt update

Install Docker

Install Latest Docker CE

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

✅ These packages include:

  • docker-ce → The Docker engine (daemon).
  • docker-ce-cli → The Docker CLI tool (docker).
  • containerd.io → Container runtime used by Docker.
  • docker-compose-plugin → Adds docker compose (modern Compose).

(Optional) Install a Specific Version

List available versions:

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apt-cache madison docker-ce

Install a specific version (replace version strings as needed):

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sudo apt install docker-ce=<VERSION_STRING> docker-ce-cli=<VERSION_STRING> containerd.io

Enable & Start Docker

Check Docker status:

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systemctl status docker

If not running, enable and start:

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sudo systemctl enable docker
sudo systemctl start docker

Run Docker Without sudo

To avoid typing sudo with every Docker command, add your user to the docker group:

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sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

⚠️ Log out and back in (or reboot) for the group change to take effect.

Test:

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docker ps -a
docker --version

Example:

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Docker version 28.4.0, build d8eb465

Install Standalone Docker Compose (Optional)

If you want the standalone docker-compose binary in addition to docker compose:

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sudo curl -L "https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/download/v2.28.1/docker-compose-$(uname -s)-$(uname -m)" \
-o /usr/local/bin/docker-compose

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

Check version:

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docker-compose --version
# Docker version 28.4.0, build d8eb465