Docker Installation on Ubuntu 22.04 | Step-by-Step Guide

In this guide, we are going to learn how to install Docker on Ubuntu with step-by-step complete explanation. We will also verify every step to make sure Docker is properly installed and running on your system.

Topics Covered:

• How to update and prepare your Ubuntu system
• How to install Docker securely using Docker’s official repository
• How to verify Docker installation
• How to test Docker by running a container

My Setup:

I'm using Ubuntu 22.04 as my operating system for this demo.

You can also watch this tutorial demo on our Youtube Channel

Step 1: Update System Packages

We need to update the package list and upgrade any outdated packages.

sudo apt update

sudo apt upgrade -y

Command Output:

Trimmed

Processing triggers for dbus (1.14.10-4ubuntu4.1) ...

Processing triggers for install-info (7.1-3build2) ...

Processing triggers for libc-bin (2.39-0ubuntu8.5) ...

Processing triggers for man-db (2.12.0-4build2) ...

Processing triggers for initramfs-tools (0.142ubuntu25.5) ...

update-initramfs: Generating /boot/initrd.img-6.8.0-64-generic

Scanning processes...

Scanning candidates...

Scanning linux images...

Running kernel seems to be up-to-date.

Restarting services...

 systemctl restart multipathd.service polkit.service ssh.service udisks2.service

Service restarts being deferred:

 systemctl restart ModemManager.service

 /etc/needrestart/restart.d/dbus.service

 systemctl restart getty@tty1.service

 systemctl restart systemd-logind.service

 systemctl restart unattended-upgrades.service

No containers need to be restarted.

User sessions running outdated binaries:

 skuma @ session #2: apt[1490], sshd[891]

 skuma @ session #4: sshd[893]

 skuma @ user manager service: systemd[898]

No VM guests are running outdated hypervisor (qemu) binaries on this host.

skuma@server1:~$

This makes sure we are working with the latest versions of all dependencies.

Step 2: Install Required Packages

Install some necessary packages that help us securely install Docker.

sudo apt install ca-certificates curl gnupg -y

Command Output:

skuma@server1:~$ sudo apt install ca-certificates curl gnupg -y

Reading package lists... Done

Building dependency tree... Done

Reading state information... Done

ca-certificates is already the newest version (20240203).

ca-certificates set to manually installed.

curl is already the newest version (8.5.0-2ubuntu10.6).

gnupg is already the newest version (2.4.4-2ubuntu17.3).

gnupg set to manually installed.

0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 4 not upgraded.

skuma@server1:~$

These tools are very important for managing repositories and downloading packages over HTTPS.

Step 3: Add Docker’s GPG Key

To make sure we install Docker from a trusted source, we need to add Docker’s official GPG key.

First, create the directory:

sudo mkdir -p /etc/apt/keyrings

Then download and store the GPG key securely using curl:

curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo gpg \

--dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg

Step 4: Add Docker’s Repository

Now we’ll add Docker’s official repository.

echo \

  "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) \

  signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg] \

  https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu \

  $(lsb_release -cs) stable" | \

  sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null

This command automatically detects your system architecture and Ubuntu version, and configures the Docker repo accordingly.

Step 5: Update the Package List Again

Now that Docker's repo is added, we need to refresh the package list again.

sudo apt update

Command Output:

skuma@server1:~$ sudo apt update

Get:1 https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu noble InRelease [48.8 kB]

Get:2 https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu noble/stable amd64 Packages [28.5 kB]

Hit:3 http://in.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble InRelease

Hit:4 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-security InRelease

Hit:5 http://in.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-updates InRelease

Hit:6 http://in.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-backports InRelease

Fetched 77.3 kB in 2s (47.0 kB/s)

Reading package lists... Done

Building dependency tree... Done

Reading state information... Done

4 packages can be upgraded. Run 'apt list --upgradable' to see them.

Step 6: Install Docker Engine

Now comes the main part, installing Docker.

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

Command Output:

skuma@server1:~$ sudo apt install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin -y

Reading package lists... Done

Building dependency tree... Done

Reading state information... Done

The following additional packages will be installed:

  docker-ce-rootless-extras libslirp0 pigz slirp4netns

Suggested packages:

  cgroupfs-mount | cgroup-lite docker-model-plugin

The following NEW packages will be installed:

  containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-ce docker-ce-cli docker-ce-rootless-extras docker-compose-plugin libslirp0 pigz slirp4netns

0 upgraded, 9 newly installed, 0 to remove and 4 not upgraded.

Need to get 103 MB of archives.

After this operation, 429 MB of additional disk space will be used.

Output Trimmed

Running kernel seems to be up-to-date.

Restarting services...

Service restarts being deferred:

 /etc/needrestart/restart.d/dbus.service

 systemctl restart getty@tty1.service

 systemctl restart systemd-logind.service

 systemctl restart unattended-upgrades.service

No containers need to be restarted.

User sessions running outdated binaries:

 skuma @ session #2: sshd[891]

 skuma @ session #4: sshd[893]

 skuma @ user manager service: systemd[898]

No VM guests are running outdated hypervisor (qemu) binaries on this host.

skuma@server1:~$

This installs:

Docker Engine

Docker CLI tools

Docker Compose plugin

Step 7: Verify Docker Installation

Check Docker version:

docker --version

Command Output:

skuma@server1:~$ docker --version

Docker version 28.3.2, build 578ccf6

skuma@server1:~$

If you see the version number, Docker is installed correctly.

Step 8: Check Docker Service Status

Verify whether Docker is running or not.

sudo systemctl status docker

Command Output:

skuma@server1:~$ sudo systemctl status docker

● docker.service - Docker Application Container Engine

     Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/docker.service; enabled; preset: enabled)

     Active: active (running) since Sat 2025-07-26 05:23:22 UTC; 1min 6s ago

TriggeredBy: ● docker.socket

       Docs: https://docs.docker.com

   Main PID: 16697 (dockerd)

      Tasks: 8

     Memory: 21.6M (peak: 21.8M)

        CPU: 483ms

     CGroup: /system.slice/docker.service

             └─16697 /usr/bin/dockerd -H fd:// --containerd=/run/containerd/containerd.sock

Jul 26 05:23:21 server1 dockerd[16697]: time="2025-07-26T05:23:21.669297451Z" level=info msg="detected 127.0.0.53 nameserver, assuming systemd-resolved, so using re>

Jul 26 05:23:21 server1 dockerd[16697]: time="2025-07-26T05:23:21.708933067Z" level=info msg="Creating a containerd client" address=/run/containerd/containerd.sock >

Jul 26 05:23:21 server1 dockerd[16697]: time="2025-07-26T05:23:21.824117058Z" level=info msg="Loading containers: start."

Jul 26 05:23:22 server1 dockerd[16697]: time="2025-07-26T05:23:22.404568741Z" level=info msg="Loading containers: done."

Jul 26 05:23:22 server1 dockerd[16697]: time="2025-07-26T05:23:22.436489743Z" level=info msg="Docker daemon" commit=e77ff99 containerd-snapshotter=false storage-dri>

Jul 26 05:23:22 server1 dockerd[16697]: time="2025-07-26T05:23:22.436901615Z" level=info msg="Initializing buildkit"

Jul 26 05:23:22 server1 dockerd[16697]: time="2025-07-26T05:23:22.501542109Z" level=info msg="Completed buildkit initialization"

Jul 26 05:23:22 server1 dockerd[16697]: time="2025-07-26T05:23:22.518178178Z" level=info msg="Daemon has completed initialization"

Jul 26 05:23:22 server1 dockerd[16697]: time="2025-07-26T05:23:22.518243119Z" level=info msg="API listen on /run/docker.sock"

Jul 26 05:23:22 server1 systemd[1]: Started docker.service - Docker Application Container Engine.

You should see something like active (running) in green. That means Docker is up and running.

Step 9: Run a Test Container

Let’s run a simple test container using the hello-world image:

sudo docker run hello-world

Command Output:

skuma@server1:~$ sudo docker run hello-world

Unable to find image 'hello-world:latest' locally

latest: Pulling from library/hello-world

e6590344b1a5: Pull complete

Digest: sha256:ec153840d1e635ac434fab5e377081f17e0e15afab27beb3f726c3265039cfff

Status: Downloaded newer image for hello-world:latest

Hello from Docker!

This message shows that your installation appears to be working correctly.

To generate this message, Docker took the following steps:

 1. The Docker client contacted the Docker daemon.

 2. The Docker daemon pulled the "hello-world" image from the Docker Hub.

    (amd64)

 3. The Docker daemon created a new container from that image which runs the

    executable that produces the output you are currently reading.

 4. The Docker daemon streamed that output to the Docker client, which sent it

    to your terminal.

To try something more ambitious, you can run an Ubuntu container with:

 $ docker run -it ubuntu bash

Share images, automate workflows, and more with a free Docker ID:

 https://hub.docker.com/

For more examples and ideas, visit:

 https://docs.docker.com/get-started/

skuma@server1:~$

This downloads a test image and runs a small container.

If everything is working, you'll see a friendly message from Docker confirming the setup is successful.

That’s It!

We have successfully installed Docker on Ubuntu 22.04! See you in the next tutorial.