Docs ComputeInstall Docker on Ubuntu 22.04

Install Docker on Ubuntu 22.04

Install Docker Engine and Docker Compose on Ubuntu 22.04 and run your first container.

beginner

8 min read

LightYear Docs Team

Updated April 24, 2026

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Ready to get started?

Docker is a platform for building, shipping, and running containerised applications. This guide installs Docker Engine and Docker Compose on Ubuntu 22.04.

Prerequisites

Ubuntu 22.04 server with sudo privileges
At least 2 GB RAM recommended

Step 1 — Remove Old Docker Versions

>_BASH

$apt remove docker docker-engine docker.io containerd runc

Step 2 — Install Dependencies

>_BASH

$apt update
$apt install -y ca-certificates curl gnupg lsb-release

Step 3 — Add Docker's GPG Key and Repository

>_BASH

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

>_BASH

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

Step 4 — Install Docker Engine

>_BASH

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

Step 5 — Verify the Installation

>_BASH

$docker --version

OUTPUT

Docker version 26.1.4, build 5650f9b

>_BASH

$docker run hello-world

OUTPUT

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

Step 6 — Run Docker Without Sudo

Add your user to the docker group:

>_BASH

$usermod -aG docker deploy
$newgrp docker

Step 7 — Enable Docker on Boot

>_BASH

$systemctl enable docker
$systemctl enable containerd

Step 8 — Install Docker Compose (Standalone)

>_BASH

$curl -SL "https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/latest/download/docker-compose-linux-$(uname -m)" -o /usr/local/bin/docker-compose
$chmod +x /usr/local/bin/docker-compose
$docker-compose --version

OUTPUT

Docker Compose version v2.27.1

Run a Sample Application

Create a docker-compose.yml for a simple Nginx web server:

YAML

version: '3.8'
services:
  web:
    image: nginx:alpine
    ports:
      - "80:80"
    volumes:
      - ./html:/usr/share/nginx/html:ro
    restart: unless-stopped

>_BASH

$mkdir html && echo "<h1>Hello from Docker!</h1>" > html/index.html
$docker-compose up -d

>_BASH

$curl http://localhost

OUTPUT

<h1>Hello from Docker!</h1>

[!NOTE] Remember to open port 80 in your LightYear firewall group if you want to access the web server from the internet.

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