How to Install Docker on Ubuntu 20.04 – Comprehensive Guide

Introduction

Docker is an open-source platform for developers and system administrators which creates a portable container for application development. Docker is used for building, testing, and deploying applications that can run virtually. It is similar to a virtual machine. Docker applications are fast, because instead of requiring dedicated server resources, it shares the kernel and other resources. It is quick and easy to configure.

Containers allow applications to run isolated from one another. It also bundles their own software, libraries, and configuration files. They can communicate with each other through well-defined channels. The use of Containers is becoming popular because they are flexible, lightweight, portable, loosely coupled, scalable, and more secure. Multiple containers can run on the same hardware.

In this tutorial, you’ll install Docker on Ubuntu 20.04 and execute some of the basic Docker commands.

Prerequisites

Before you start, you’ll need the following.

• If you do not have servers in the cloud, Create an AWS EC2 Ubuntu server instance by following the guide How to launch an EC2 Instance.
• [Important] – Update the packages list in the server which is upgrade-able using sudo apt update
• [Important] – Upgrade the packages in the server to the latest versions using sudo apt upgrade

Methods to Install Docker on Ubuntu

In this step, you’ll go through different methods to install Docker on Ubuntu 20.04. Docker has two versions namely:

• Docker CE (Community Edition)

• Docker EE (Enterprise Edition)

In this tutorial, you’ll install Docker CE because Docker CE is more than enough to get started and build small scale applications.

Various methods to Install Docker on Ubuntu are: (You can navigate to specific method by clicking the link)

• Using Default Ubuntu repository
• Using Official Docker repository (Recommended)
• Using a .deb package
• Using an automated script

Installing Docker Using Default Ubuntu Repository

In this step, you’ll install Docker on Ubuntu using the default repository. Ubuntu Repositories contain highly tested and secure software that is easy to install and use. To know more about Ubuntu repositories visit this Ubuntu Community page.

First, you’ll install Docker on Ubuntu, using the docker.io command in your terminal.

sudo apt install docker.io

You’ll get a prompt to enter (y/n). Press y.

You’ll see the below output.

Output

...
Preparing to unpack .../5-docker.io_19.03.8-0ubuntu1.20.04.2_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking docker.io (19.03.8-0ubuntu1.20.04.2) ...
Setting up docker.io (19.03.8-0ubuntu1.20.04.2) ...
...

Next, you’ll install the dependency packages using the below command in your terminal.

sudo snap install docker

• sudo – Keyword to run the command with sudo administrative privileges
• snap –  compresses system configuration information into a pax file and transmit to a remote system.
• install – copy files and set attributes.
• docker – package name

You’ll see the below output.

Output

docker 19.03.11 from Canonical✓ installed

Finally, verify that you’ve install Docker on Ubuntu, using the –version sub-command in your terminal.

docker --version

You’ll see the below output.

Output

Docker version 19.03.8, build afacb8b7f0

You’ve installed Docker from Ubuntu Default repositories. The drawback of installing Docker from the default repository is that you may not get the latest version of Docker. As you can see Ubuntu repositories gives version 19.03.8 of Docker while the LST (Latest Stable Version) of Docker is 20.10.2 (at the time of writing).

In the next step, you’ll install Docker on Ubuntu using Docker Official repositories.

Installing Docker Using Official Docker Repositories (Recommended)

In this step, you’ll install the latest version of Docker from the Official Docker Repository. You’ll add a new package source and the GPG key from Docker.

A GPG (GNU Privacy Guard), is a public key cryptography implementation. It helps in the secure transmission of information.

First, install a few packages that allows apt to use a repository over HTTPS, using the below command in terminal.

sudo apt-get install \
    apt-transport-https \
    ca-certificates \
    curl \
    gnupg-agent \
    software-properties-common

You’ll get a prompt to enter (y/n). Press y.

You’ll see the below output.

Output

...
Setting up gnupg-agent (2.2.19-3ubuntu2) ...
Setting up curl (7.68.0-1ubuntu2.4) ...
Setting up software-properties-common (0.98.9.3) ...
...
Running hooks in /etc/ca-certificates/update.d...
done.

Next, to ensure that the downloads are valid, you’ll add GPG key for Official Docker repository to your system, using the below command in your terminal.

curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo apt-key add -

You’ll see the below output.

Output

OK

Now, you’ve added the GPG key to your system.

Optional: You can verify by searching for the last 8 characters(0EBF CD88) of the fingerprint, using the below command. The fingerprint is a short version of the server’s public key. It is used for verification.

sudo apt-key fingerprint 0EBFCD88

You’ll see the below output.

Output

pub   rsa4096 2017-02-22 [SCEA]
      9DC8 5822 9FC7 DD38 854A  E2D8 8D81 803C 0EBF CD88
uid           [ unknown] Docker Release (CE deb) <[email protected]>
sub   rsa4096 2017-02-22 [S]

Now, You’ll have the key with the fingerprint 9DC8 5822 9FC7 DD38 854A E2D8 8D81 803C 0EBF CD88.

Next, you’ll set up the stable Docker repository by adding it to the APT sources, using the below command in your terminal.

To add the nightly or test repository, append nightly or test (or both) after stable in the below command. You can learn more about the Docker channels from the Official Docker Documentation.

sudo add-apt-repository "deb [arch=amd64] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu focal stable"

You’ll see the below output.

Output

...
Reading package lists... Done

Next, update the package database with the Docker packages, using the below command in your terminal.

sudo apt update

You’ll see the below output.

Output

...
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done

Optional: You can ensure you are downloading Docker from Docker Repositories, by using the below command.

apt-cache policy docker-ce

• apt-cache –  collects information of packages 
• policy –  shows which versions of a package apt knows
• docker-ce – package name

You’ll see the below output.

Output

docker-ce:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 5:20.10.2~3-0~ubuntu-focal
  Version table:
     5:20.10.2~3-0~ubuntu-focal 500
        500 https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu focal/stable amd64 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status/var

Installed: (none) shows that docker-ce is not installed yet.

Candidate: 5:20.10.2~3-0~ubuntu-focal shows you are using Ubuntu 20.04 (focal).

In Version Table, you can see version 20.10.2 of Docker.

Now you’ll install Docker on Ubuntu, using the below install in your terminal.

sudo apt install docker-ce

You’ll get a prompt to enter (y/n). Press y.

You’ll see the below output.

Output

...
Setting up containerd.io (1.4.3-1) ...
Setting up docker-ce-cli (5:20.10.2~3-0~ubuntu-focal) ...
Setting up docker-ce (5:20.10.2~3-0~ubuntu-focal) ...
Setting up docker-ce-rootless-extras (5:20.10.2~3-0~ubuntu-focal) ...
...

You’ve installed Docker successfully.

To verify you can execute the below command in your terminal.

 docker --version

You’ll see the below output.

Output

Docker version 20.10.2, build 2291f6

You’ve successfully installed docker using Official Docker Repositories. Please note that you may get a different version number (as 20.10.2 was the LTS at the time of writing).

In the next step, you’ll install docker on Ubuntu using .deb package.

Installing Docker Manually From a Package

In this step, you’ll install Docker on Ubuntu by downloading the .deb file from the index files of the specific version (In this case, focal – Ubuntu 20.04).

Deb file is a installation package format used by all Debian based distributions. The Ubuntu repositories contain thousands of deb packages that can be installed either from the Ubuntu Software Center or from the command line using the apt and apt-get utilities.

You’ve to download the .deb file every time when you want to upgrade the docker. This method is preferred, if you want to install a different version of Docker than the latest version.

First, you’ll go to Docker Ubuntu Distributions page and choose your Ubuntu (focal – 20.04) version.

Next, you’ll click pool and then stable.

Next, you’ll choose amd64 or arm64 based on your processor.

Next, you’ll download the .deb file for the version of Docker(docker-ce) you want to install.

Finally, you’ll install Docker from the path you’ve downloaded .deb package, using the below command in your terminal.

Ensure you are using the path to the .deb package in your system.

sudo dpkg -i /path/to/downloaded_package.deb

You’ll see the below output.

Output

...
Setting up docker-ce (5:20.10.2~3-0~ubuntu-focal) ...
...

You’ve successfully installed Docker on Ubuntu using .deb package manually.

To verify the installation of docker, execute the below command in your terminal.

docker --version

You’ll see the below output.

Output

Docker version 20.10.2, build 2291f6

In the next step, you’ll learn how to install Docker on Ubuntu using the scripts.

Installing Docker on Ubuntu Using the Automated Scripts

In this step, you’ll install Docker on Ubuntu using the automated scripts. Docker provides convenience scripts for installing edge (latest) and test versions of the Docker engine. These scripts helps you to install Docker and test it without setting any configurations.

It is not recommended to use this version in the Production Environment, because it may not be a stable one. For more details, read the instructions from the Official Docker Documentation.

Installing Docker Engine – Community (latest Version)

First, you’ll install Docker on Ubuntu (edge version) with the help of the Get Docker script, using the below command in your terminal.

curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o docker.sh

Script docker.sh is downloaded.

Next, execute the below command in your terminal to execute the script. It’ll install Docker.

sudo sh docker.sh

You’ve installed Docker on Ubuntu using the convenient scripts.

Installing Docker – Test Version

You can install the test version of Docker Engine from Test Docker, using the below command in your terminal.

curl -fsSL https://test.docker.com -o docker.sh

Script docker.sh for test version is downloaded.

Next, execute the below command in your terminal to execute the script. It’ll install test version of Docker.

sudo sh docker.sh

You’ve installed Docker on Ubuntu using the convenience scripts.

In the next step, you’ll test the installation of Docker by checking whether it’s running as a service.

Testing Docker Installation

In this step, you’ll test whether the install Docker on Ubuntu is successfull and running as a service properly.

When you install Docker, the daemon is started and the process is enabled on boot automatically.

You can check it by using the below command.

sudo systemctl status docker

You’ll see the below output.

Output

● docker.service - Docker Application Container Engine
     Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/docker.service; enabled; vendor preset>
     Active: active (running) since Mon 2021-01-25 11:55:41 UTC; 2h 11min ago
TriggeredBy: ● docker.socket
       Docs: https://docs.docker.com
   Main PID: 17435 (dockerd)
      Tasks: 8
     Memory: 58.8M
     CGroup: /system.slice/docker.service
             └─17435 /usr/bin/dockerd -H fd:// --containerd=/run/containerd/con>

You will see that the docker is in running state (active) currently.

In the next step, you’ll setup docker command for non root user.

Using Docker Command Without Sudo

In this step, you’ll configure the user to access docker command without sudo.

You can run docker command with sudo or as a user available in the Docker Group.

If you try running docker without sudo or the user not available in the Docker group, you’ll see the below output.

docker: Cannot connect to the Docker daemon. Is the docker daemon running on this host?.
See 'docker run --help'.

To add current user of the system to the Docker group, you can execute the below command in your terminal.

sudo usermod -aG docker ${USER}

Next, you can execute the below command in your terminal.

su - ${USER}

Next, you’ll enter the password for USER.

Password:

You can confirm that the USER is added to Docker group using the id command. id is a command-line utility that prints group IDs of the current user.

id -nG

You’ll see the below output.

Output

askvikram docker

• askvikram – Current user name
• docker – Docker Group name

You’ve added the current user to the Docker group successfully.

Finally, to add another user to the Docker group, execute the below command.

sudo usermod -aG docker username

• sudo – Keyword to run the command with sudo administrative privileges
• usermod – keyword to modify the user properties
• -aG – Option to add Group
• docker – Docker Group name
• username – Username to be added to the Docker Group

In the next step, you’ll work with some of the basic commands of Docker.

Exploring Docker Command

In this step, you’ll find out what is a docker command, docker image, docker hub and execute few commands using docker-cli.

You can avoid prefixing every command with sudo if you have gone through the previous step.

sudo docker [option] [management command] [command]

• docker – specifies docker command
• [option] – specifies the optional command for docker
• [management command] – specifies command for managing docker
• [command] – actual docker command

Listing the Available Docker Commands

You can view the available commands in docker, using the below command in your terminal.

sudo docker

You’ll see the below output.

Output

Usage:  docker [OPTIONS] COMMAND

A self-sufficient runtime for containers

Options:
      --config string      Location of client config files (default
                           "/home/askvikram/.docker")
  -c, --context string     Name of the context to use to connect to the
                           daemon (overrides DOCKER_HOST env var and
                           default context set with "docker context use")
  -D, --debug              Enable debug mode
  -H, --host list          Daemon socket(s) to connect to
  -l, --log-level string   Set the logging level
                           ("debug"|"info"|"warn"|"error"|"fatal")
                           (default "info")
      --tls                Use TLS; implied by --tlsverify
      --tlscacert string   Trust certs signed only by this CA (default
                           "/home/askvikram/.docker/ca.pem")
      --tlscert string     Path to TLS certificate file (default
                           "/home/askvikram/.docker/cert.pem")
      --tlskey string      Path to TLS key file (default
                           "/home/askvikram/.docker/key.pem")
      --tlsverify          Use TLS and verify the remote
  -v, --version            Print version information and quit

Management Commands:
  app*        Docker App (Docker Inc., v0.9.1-beta3)
  builder     Manage builds
  buildx*     Build with BuildKit (Docker Inc., v0.5.1-docker)
  config      Manage Docker configs
  container   Manage containers
  context     Manage contexts
  image       Manage images
  manifest    Manage Docker image manifests and manifest lists
  network     Manage networks
  node        Manage Swarm nodes
  plugin      Manage plugins
  secret      Manage Docker secrets
  service     Manage services
  stack       Manage Docker stacks
  swarm       Manage Swarm
  system      Manage Docker
  trust       Manage trust on Docker images
  volume      Manage volumes

Commands:
  attach      Attach local standard input, output, and error streams to a running container
  build       Build an image from a Dockerfile
  commit      Create a new image from a container's changes
  cp          Copy files/folders between a container and the local filesystem
  create      Create a new container
  diff        Inspect changes to files or directories on a container's filesystem
  events      Get real time events from the server
  exec        Run a command in a running container
  export      Export a container's filesystem as a tar archive
  history     Show the history of an image
  images      List images
  import      Import the contents from a tarball to create a filesystem image
  info        Display system-wide information
  inspect     Return low-level information on Docker objects
  kill        Kill one or more running containers
  load        Load an image from a tar archive or STDIN
  login       Log in to a Docker registry
  logout      Log out from a Docker registry
  logs        Fetch the logs of a container
  pause       Pause all processes within one or more containers
  port        List port mappings or a specific mapping for the container
  ps          List containers
  pull        Pull an image or a repository from a registry
  push        Push an image or a repository to a registry
  rename      Rename a container
  restart     Restart one or more containers
  rm          Remove one or more containers
  rmi         Remove one or more images
  run         Run a command in a new container
  save        Save one or more images to a tar archive (streamed to STDOUT by default)
  search      Search the Docker Hub for images
  start       Start one or more stopped containers
  stats       Display a live stream of container(s) resource usage statistics
  stop        Stop one or more running containers
  tag         Create a tag TARGET_IMAGE that refers to SOURCE_IMAGE
  top         Display the running processes of a container
  unpause     Unpause all processes within one or more containers
  update      Update configuration of one or more containers
  version     Show the Docker version information
  wait        Block until one or more containers stop, then print their exit codes

Run 'docker COMMAND --help' for more information on a command.

To get more help with docker, check out our guides at https://docs.docker.com/go/guides/

These are the commands you can use in docker. You can refer what each command does by downloading this Official Docker Cheat-sheet.

Knowing System Information for Docker

You can view the system wide information of Docker using the below command in your terminal.

sudo docker info

You’ll see the below output.

Output

Client:
 Context:    default
 Debug Mode: false
 Plugins:
  app: Docker App (Docker Inc., v0.9.1-beta3)
  buildx: Build with BuildKit (Docker Inc., v0.5.1-docker)

Server:
 Containers: 1
  Running: 0
  Paused: 0
  Stopped: 0
...

You’ll see warnings, errors, Client and Server information of Docker.

Running a Docker Image

You’ll get into some of the basic commands of Docker using Docker image.

A Docker image is a read-only template that contains a set of instructions for creating a container that can run on the Docker platform. It provides a convenient way to package up applications and preconfigured server environments, which you can use for your own private use or share publicly with other Docker users. You can build a Docker container from Docker image.

Docker Hub is a service provided by Docker for finding and sharing Docker images. To Know more about the Docker hub, visit the Official Docker Documentation.

You can use the below command to download a test image and run it in a container.

What happens when you run the below command?

The command first searches locally for any Docker image named hello-world. If it is not available locally, then it searches in the docker hub (Default Repository) for the hello-world docker image and downloads it.

After the image is downloaded, Docker creates a container and the application within the container is executed.

sudo docker run hello-world

You’ll see the below output.

Output

Unable to find image 'hello-world:latest' locally
latest: Pulling from library/hello-world
0e03bdcc26d7: Pull complete
Digest: sha256:31b9c7d48790f0d8c50ab433d9c3b7e17666d6993084c002c2ff1ca09b96391d
Status: Downloaded newer image for hello-world:latest

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

Now, you’ve successfully executed a docker image downloaded from Docker Hub.

Listing Local Docker Images

You can list the locally available Docker images, using the docker images command in your terminal.

sudo docker images

You’ll see the below output.

Output

REPOSITORY    TAG       IMAGE ID       CREATED         SIZE
hello-world   latest    bf756fb1ae65   12 months ago   13.3kB

You can see hello-world Docker image downloaded in the previous step, is available locally in your system.

Searching Docker Images in Docker Hub

You can search for any Docker image using the docker search command.

sudo docker search image_name

• docker – specifies docker related command
• search – used to search for Docker images in Docker Hub
• image_name – Docker image name to be searched in Docker Hub

The above command gives you a list of Docker images from the Docker hub.

For example, you can consider the image_name as ‘django’.

sudo docker search django

You’ll see the below output.

Output

NAME                                  DESCRIPTION                                     STARS    OFFICIAL   AUTOMATED
django                                Django is a free web application framework, …   1040      [OK]
dockerfiles/django-uwsgi-nginx        Dockerfile and configuration files to build …   187                  [OK]
camandel/django-wiki                  wiki engine based on django framework           33                   [OK]
alang/django                          This image can be used as a starting point t…   29                   [OK]
micropyramid/django-crm               Opensourse CRM developed on django framework…   19                   [OK]
...

All the available Docker images with the name Django are listed from the Docker Hub.

OK in the OFFICIAL Column indicates that Docker image is supported and built by the company behind the project.

Pulling a Docker Image From Docker Hub

In this section, you’ll Pull the Docker image from Docker Hub and execute some of the basic commands. You can notice that you’ve already pulled a image from Docker in one of the previous steps (Running Docker Image) using the run command.

You can pull a Docker image using the pull command as shown below.

sudo docker pull django

You’ll see the below output.

Output

Using default tag: latest
latest: Pulling from library/django
75a822cd7888: Pull complete
e4665cede9d1: Pull complete
202a45aa091c: Pull complete
7799136eb561: Pull complete
7a7f9ca3fd40: Pull complete
412f2d081014: Pull complete
Digest: sha256:5bfd3f442952463f5bc97188b7f43cfcd6c2f631a017ee2a6fca3cb8992501e8
Status: Downloaded newer image for django:latest
docker.io/library/django:latest

You’ve successfully pulled a Docker image from Docker hub using the pull command.

In the next step, you’ll learn how to uninstall docker.

Uninstalling Docker

In this step, you’ll uninstall docker assuming you’ve install docker on ubuntu earlier.

First, you’ll uninstall any versions of Docker that you have installed, using the below command in your terminal.

sudo apt-get remove docker docker-engine docker.io

You’ll see the below output.

Output

...
Removing docker.io (19.03.8-0ubuntu1.20.04.2) 
...

You can see that docker version 19.03.8 is removed.

Finally, you can remove images, containers, volumes, or customized configuration files on your host, using the below command.

sudo rm -rf /var/lib/docker

You’ve removed all your docker related files from your system.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, you’ve successfully installed Docker on Ubuntu, executed some of the basic commands in docker and uninstalled docker and its files.

What Next?

As a next step, you can create a Docker hub account and push your Docker images to the Docker Hub.

How to execute shell commands from Python?

FAQs