How to Install and Configure Docker on Ubuntu 24.04

Overview

Docker is an open-source containerization platform that lets you package applications and their dependencies into lightweight, portable containers. In this guide, you will learn how to install Docker Engine on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, configure it for everyday use, install Docker Compose, and apply essential production hardening steps.

By the end of this tutorial, you will have a fully functional Docker environment ready for development and production workloads.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

• A server or local machine running Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
• A non-root user with sudo privileges
• A stable internet connection
• Basic familiarity with the Linux terminal

Step 1 — Update the System

Always start by updating your package index and upgrading existing packages to ensure a clean base.

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2 — Install Required Dependencies

Install the packages Docker needs to fetch and verify packages over HTTPS.

sudo apt install -y \
    ca-certificates \
    curl \
    gnupg \
    lsb-release

Step 3 — Add Docker’s Official GPG Key

Create the directory for storing keyrings, then download and save Docker’s GPG key.

sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings

curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | \
    sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg

sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg

Step 4 — Add the Docker Repository

Add the official Docker apt repository to your sources list.

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

Update the package index to include the new repository.

sudo apt update

Step 5 — Install Docker Engine

Install Docker Engine, the CLI, containerd, and the Buildx and Compose plugins in one command.

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

Step 6 — Verify the Installation

Check that Docker Engine is installed correctly by running the classic hello-world image.

sudo docker run hello-world

You should see a message confirming that Docker is working correctly.

Also verify the installed version:

docker --version

Expected output (version may differ):

Docker version 26.x.x, build xxxxxxx

Step 7 — Manage Docker as a Non-Root User

By default, Docker requires sudo. To run Docker commands as your regular user, add your user to the docker group.

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

Apply the group change without logging out:

newgrp docker

Verify you can run Docker without sudo:

docker run hello-world

Security Note: Users in the docker group have privileges equivalent to the root user. Only add trusted users to this group.

Step 8 — Enable Docker to Start on Boot

Enable the Docker and containerd services to start automatically on system boot.

sudo systemctl enable docker
sudo systemctl enable containerd

Check the current status of the Docker service:

sudo systemctl status docker

You should see active (running) in the output.

Step 9 — Configure the Firewall (UFW)

If UFW (Uncomplicated Firewall) is enabled on your server, Docker manages its own iptables rules and may bypass UFW by default. It is good practice to be aware of this behaviour.

Check if UFW is active:

sudo ufw status

Allow any ports your containers expose as needed. For example, to allow HTTP and HTTPS traffic:

sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp
sudo ufw reload

Step 10 — Install Docker Compose (Standalone, Optional)

The docker-compose-plugin installed in Step 5 provides the docker compose (v2) command. If you need the older standalone docker-compose (v1) binary for legacy projects, install it as follows.

sudo apt install -y docker-compose

Verify:

docker compose version

Step 11 — Test Docker Compose

Create a simple test to confirm Docker Compose is working correctly.

mkdir ~/compose-test && cd ~/compose-test

Create a compose.yml file:

services:
  web:
    image: nginx:latest
    ports:
      - "8080:80"

Start the service:

docker compose up -d

Visit http://your-server-ip:8080 in your browser. You should see the default Nginx welcome page served from inside a Docker container.

Stop and clean up:

docker compose down

Step 12 — Configure Docker Daemon (Production Hardening)

For production environments, create a /etc/docker/daemon.json file to configure logging, storage drivers, and resource limits.

sudo nano /etc/docker/daemon.json

Add the following recommended settings:

{
  "log-driver": "json-file",
  "log-opts": {
    "max-size": "10m",
    "max-file": "3"
  },
  "storage-driver": "overlay2",
  "live-restore": true,
  "userland-proxy": false
}

Restart Docker to apply changes:

sudo systemctl restart docker

Common Docker Commands Reference

# List running containers
docker ps

# List all containers (including stopped)
docker ps -a

# Pull an image from Docker Hub
docker pull ubuntu:24.04

# Run a container interactively
docker run -it ubuntu:24.04 bash

# Stop a running container
docker stop <container_id>

# Remove a container
docker rm <container_id>

# Remove an image
docker rmi <image_id>

# View disk usage by Docker
docker system df

# Remove unused containers, networks, images
docker system prune -a

Troubleshooting

Docker daemon is not running

sudo systemctl start docker
sudo systemctl status docker

Permission denied when running Docker

Make sure your user is in the docker group and you have applied the group change:

groups $USER        # Check groups
newgrp docker       # Apply without logout

Cannot connect to the Docker daemon

Check if the socket exists:

ls -la /var/run/docker.sock

If it is missing, restart the service:

sudo systemctl restart docker

Uninstalling Docker

If you need to completely remove Docker from your system:

# Remove Docker packages
sudo apt purge -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io \
    docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

# Remove all Docker data (images, containers, volumes)
sudo rm -rf /var/lib/docker
sudo rm -rf /var/lib/containerd

# Remove the Docker repository
sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list
sudo rm /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg

Conclusion

You have successfully installed and configured Docker on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. Here is a summary of what was covered:

• Installed Docker Engine from the official Docker repository
• Configured Docker to run without sudo
• Enabled Docker to start automatically on boot
• Installed and tested Docker Compose
• Applied production-grade daemon hardening

Docker is now ready to run containers on your Ubuntu server. As a next step, explore Docker networking, named volumes, and multi-container applications using Docker Compose.

Further Reading

• Official Docker Documentation
• Docker Hub
• Docker Compose Reference
• Docker Security Best Practices