Install Docker Engine for the first time on a new host machine through apt repository. This is a quick installation guide covering most of the use cases. For more details please visit the official Docker website.

Warning – Firewall limitations:

If you use ufw or firewalld to manage firewall settings, be aware that when you expose container ports using Docker, these ports bypass your firewall rules. For more information, refer to Docker and ufw.

Docker is only compatible with iptables-nft and iptables-legacy. Firewall rules created with nft are not supported on a system with Docker installed. Make sure that any firewall rulesets you use are created with iptables or ip6tables, and that you add them to the DOCKER-USER chain, see Packet filtering and firewalls.

Prerequisites

OS Requirements

Ubuntu Resolute 26.04 (LTS)
Ubuntu Questing 25.10
Ubuntu Noble 24.04 (LTS)
Ubuntu Jammy 22.04 (LTS)

Uninstall Old Versions

Before you can install Docker Engine, you need to uninstall any conflicting packages.

The unofficial packages to uninstall are:

docker.io
docker-compose
docker-compose-v2
docker-doc
docker-buildx
podman-docker

Run the following command to uninstall all conflicting packages:

sudo apt remove $(dpkg --get-selections docker.io docker-compose docker-compose-v2 docker-doc docker-buildx podman-docker containerd runc | cut -f1)

Set up Docker’s `Apt` Repository

Add Docker’s official GPG Key:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install 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

Add the repository to Apt:

sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.sources <<EOF
Types: deb
URIs: https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu
Suites: $(. /etc/os-release && echo "${UBUNTU_CODENAME:-$VERSION_CODENAME}")
Components: stable
Architectures: $(dpkg --print-architecture)
Signed-By: /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc
EOF

Refresh local listing of software packages:

sudo apt update

Install Docker Packages

Install the latest version of Docker packages:

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

Install specific version of Docker packages:

To install a specific version of Docker Engine, start by listing the available versions in the repository:

apt list --all-versions docker-ce

Output for available versions:

docker-ce/noble 5:29.7.2-1~ubuntu.24.04~noble <arch>
docker-ce/noble 5:29.7.1-1~ubuntu.24.04~noble <arch>
…

Selected the desired version and install [Please update the version number below]:

VERSION_STRING=5:29.7.2-1~ubuntu.24.04~noble
sudo apt install docker-ce=$VERSION_STRING docker-ce-cli=$VERSION_STRING containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

Verify Installation

After installation, verify that Docker is running:

sudo systemctl status docker

If Docker is not running, start it manually:

sudo systemctl start docker

Verify that the installation was successful:

sudo docker run hello-world

Post-Installation Steps for Linux

Manage Docker as a non-root User

To manage Docker as a non-root user you can run the following commands.

Create the docker group:

sudo groupadd docker

Add your user to the docker group:

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

You can run the following command to activate the changes to groups:

newgrp docker

Verify that you can run docker commands without sudo:

docker run hello-world

Configure Docker to start on boot with Systemd:

sudo systemctl enable docker.service
sudo systemctl enable containerd.service

To stop this behavior, use disable instead:

sudo systemctl disable docker.service
sudo systemctl disable containerd.service

Resource

Docker’s guide: https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/ubuntu/
Uninstall Docker: https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/ubuntu/#uninstall-docker-engine

Installing Docker – Ubuntu