urZONE / Deployment Guide

Install Docker on a fresh VM

Set up Docker Engine and Docker Compose on a clean Ubuntu virtual machine using Docker’s official package repository. Follow the steps in order, and use the Copy buttons to send only the commands you need to your terminal.

01 Prepare 02 Deploy 03 Manage

Before you begin

Clean VM

Start with a fresh, 64-bit Ubuntu Server LTS virtual machine. Check Docker’s supported Ubuntu versions before choosing your image. Remove any old or unofficial Docker packages first.

Recommended resources

At least 2 vCPUs, 2 GB of RAM, and 20 GB of disk space. Images, volumes, and logs grow quickly, so allow more disk for real workloads.

Run with care: Docker runs as root, and anyone in the docker group effectively has root access to the VM. Use a VM you control and take a snapshot first.

Step 01

Connect and update

Sign in to the VM as root and update its packages. Replace the example IP address with your own.

Local terminal · SSH 
ssh root@YOUR_SERVER_IP
Root terminal · Ubuntu 
apt update && apt upgrade -y
Step 02

Remove conflicting packages

Ubuntu and third-party repositories ship unofficial Docker packages that conflict with the official ones. This removes them if present; it is safe if none are installed.

Root terminal · Cleanup 
for pkg in docker.io docker-doc docker-compose docker-compose-v2 podman-docker containerd runc; do apt remove -y $pkg; done

Existing images, containers, and volumes in /var/lib/docker are not removed by this command.

Step 03

Add Docker’s official repository

This downloads Docker’s signing key and registers its package repository for your Ubuntu release.

Root terminal · Repository 
apt install -y ca-certificates curl
install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc
chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc
tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.sources > /dev/null <<EOF
Types: deb
URIs: https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu
Suites: $(. /etc/os-release && echo "${UBUNTU_CODENAME:-$VERSION_CODENAME}")
Components: stable
Signed-By: /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc
EOF
apt update
Step 04

Install Docker Engine

Install the engine, command-line tools, and the Buildx and Compose plugins. The service starts automatically on Ubuntu.

Root terminal · Docker 
apt install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin
systemctl enable --now docker
Step 05

Verify the installation

Run a test container. If Docker is working, it prints a short confirmation message and exits.

Root terminal · Test 
docker run --rm hello-world
docker compose version
Optional

Run Docker without root

To use Docker as a normal user, add that user to the docker group. Replace YOUR_USERNAME, then log out and back in for the change to apply.

Root terminal · Docker group 
usermod -aG docker YOUR_USERNAME

Security note: Membership in the docker group is equivalent to root access. Add only people you trust with full control of this VM.

Keep building

Keep Docker and the operating system updated, remove unused images with docker image prune, and back up your volumes. Note that ports published by Docker bypass common host firewall rules such as UFW, so publish only what you need.

References: Install Docker Engine on Ubuntu · Post-installation steps · Docker Compose