How to Install Docker on Debian 12
Docker is one of the most essential tools in the current era of software development for application deployment and management. This tool allows users to package their applications and run them in an isolated environment, also famous as a “container”. You can install and use it on several platforms, including Windows, macOS, and Linux distributions, e.g., Debian.
This tutorial will explore all the possible ways to install Docker in Debian 12.
Installation of Docker on Debian 12
Management of Docker Service on Debian 12
Configuration Docker as a Non-root User on Debian 12
Uninstallation Docker on Debian 12
Let’s start with the guide.
Installation of Docker on Debian 12
When installing Docker on a Debian 12 system, it can be done from the official Docker repository, Snap Store, deb files, or using a Docker shell script. Let’s start the installation:
Method 1: Using the Official Docker Repository
This method downloads and installs the latest version of Docker through the package manager whenever the official repository releases it. It ensures that the Docker packages are retrieved with the recent modifications.
Let’s install Docker on your system from the official repository:
Step 1: Install the Necessary Packages
First, install the system dependencies that are required for the Docker installation on your Debian 12 system:
sudo apt install gnupg apt-transport-https ca-certificates curl
Step 2: Add GPG Key
Next, add the GPG key for Docker, which assures the Docker packages file’s integrity:
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/debian/gpg | sudo gpg –dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/docker.gpg
Step 3: Import Docker Repository
After that, import the repository to your Debian 12 system:
echo “deb [arch=$(dpkg –print-architecture) signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/docker.gpg] https://download.docker.com/linux/debian bookworm stable” | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null
Step 4: Refresh Repository Packages
Now, update the repository packages to implement new changes:
sudo apt update
Step 5: Install Docker on Debian 12 System
Now, you should be ready to install the required last version of Docker packages such as ‘docker-ce‘ (which is the community edition of the engine), ‘docker-ce-cli‘ (command line interface to Docker), and ‘containerd.io‘ (which is the runtime):
sudo apt install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io
Step 6: Check Version
You may now check the version of Docker to confirm that the respective installation has been done on the system:
docker –version
As can be seen, the most recent version of Docker has now been installed.
Method 2: Using the Deb Package File
If users require the specific version, they can download the .deb package file directly from Docker’s official website. Let’s explore the steps using the deb package file.
Step 1: Download Docker Package Files on Debian 12
The initial step is downloading the Docker package files from the official site on the system. Here, the three required files are being downloaded, which are containerd.io, docker-ce, and docker-ce-cli.
Using wget, the following commands will allow you to download containerd.io, docker-ce, and docker-ce-cli.
For “containerd.io”:
wget https://download.docker.com/linux/debian/dists/bookworm/pool/stable/amd64/containerd.io_1.7.27-1_amd64.deb
For “docker-ce”:
wget
https://download.docker.com/linux/debian/dists/bookworm/pool/stable/amd64/docker-ce_28.0.4-1~debian.12~bookworm_amd64.deb
For “docker-ce-cli”:
wget
https://download.docker.com/linux/debian/dists/bookworm/pool/stable/amd64/docker-ce-cli_28.0.4-1~debian.12~bookworm_amd64.deb
Alternatively, you can download the required files by accessing The Official Docker Website and clicking on the hyperlinks directly:
Step 2: Install Docker
Now, install Docker on the Debian system through the following lines:
sudo apt install ./containerd.io_1.7.27-1_amd64.deb ./docker-ce_28.0.4-1~debian.12~bookworm_amd64.deb ./docker-ce-cli_28.0.4-1~debian.12~bookworm_amd64.deb
Step 3: Verify Installation
In the last step, confirm that the system has the latest installed version of Docker:
docker –version
Method 3: Using the Snap Store
Users can install the Snap Docker package from the Snap Store easily using the Snap package manager on Debian 12 systems. Let’s install Docker on Debian 12 via the Snap Store.
Step 1: Install and Enable Snap
Debian 12 has no support for Snap by default. This means you need to enable support before you can install Snap packages like Docker. Click on the link to see how to install Snap support.
Step 2: Install Docker on Debian 12
Now, execute the command below to install the Docker Snap package on your Debian 12 system:
sudo snap install docker
Method 4: Using Docker Shell Script
Using the Docker shell script is the most direct and simplest method of installing Docker on Debian 12. The reason for this is that Docker provides a script that automatically installs Docker.
Follow the instructions below to install Docker using a shell script on Debian 12.
Step 1: Download the Shell Script on Debian 12
First, use the curl command to download the Docker shell script:
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh
Step 2: Install Docker on Debian 12
Now, to install Docker on Debian 12, just run the following command to execute the get-docker.sh script:
sudo sh get-docker.sh
You can note that the most recent version of Docker has been installed using this shell script.
Management of Docker Service on Debian 12
After installing Docker on your Debian 12 device, you may want to control the service and manage the Docker Daemon along with its containers. Managing services in Docker includes controlling the starting, enabling, disabling, stopping, and restarting Docker services.
This is how you can manage your Docker (daemon) services:
Start Docker Service
After installing Docker, the service is not started automatically; you are free to control it using the command below:
sudo systemctl start docker
Enable Docker Service
To configure the Docker daemon/service to automatically run at system boot, utilize the following command:
sudo systemctl enable docker
Disable Docker Service
To disable the service from starting automatically on bootup, one can issue the command below:
sudo systemctl disable docker
Stop Docker Service
In case you want to stop the service completely on your machine, you can simply run:
sudo systemctl stop docker
Restart Docker Service
In case you desire to refresh or start the service, execute the below line:
sudo systemctl restart docker
Display Status of Docker Service
To authenticate the services of Docker, use the following command:
sudo systemctl status docker
The output shows information about the Docker service.
Configuration of Docker as a Non-root User on Debian 12
Typically, on Debian-based systems, Docker is configured to run with root privileges after installation. Hence, using Docker commands without “sudo” gives permission errors as shown below:
To fix this error/issue on Debian 12, it is recommended to follow the given instructions to run Docker as a non-root user.
Step 1: Create a Docker group
Now we have to create a new docker group:
sudo groupadd docker
This has already created the new Docker group named “docker”:
Step 2: Add User to Docker Group
Then, add the current (or new/existing) user to the “docker” group on the operating system:
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
Step 3: Restart the Debian 12 System
To apply the configurations, you need to reboot/restart the system:
sudo reboot
Step 4: Verification
To validate the above steps, you need to provide sudo access to the chosen non-root user and check if the user can execute commands like docker ps. This command has no errors shown and gives no permission restrictions:
docker ps
It can be seen that the Docker commands are executing without “sudo” successfully.
Uninstallation Docker From Debian 12
The steps for uninstalling Docker from a Debian 12 system differ depending on the manner of installation, and hence, there are multiple methods for uninstallation.
The methods to uninstall Docker are as follows:
If Installed From Docker Repository or Shell Script
In case Docker is installed on a user’s system and is using the standard Debian repositories, or through the shell script, it can be uninstalled with:
sudo apt autoremove docker* –purge -y
Moreover, execute the command below to delete the additional repository linked to Docker:
sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list
In the same manner, the GPG key associated with Docker needs to be deleted as well using the command below:
sudo rm /usr/share/keyrings/docker.gpg
If Installed From Deb Packages Files
In the case that you have installed Docker using the deb files, use the command below to delete the software from the system:
sudo apt remove docker-ce containerd.io docker-ce-cli
If Installed From the Snap Store
If the installation occurred through the Snap Store, the procedure stated can be used:
sudo snap remove docker
This covers everything related to the installation and initial setup of Docker on a Debian 12 system.
Conclusion
This article has covered the various methods one can use to install, configure, manage, and uninstall Docker on Debian 12. All of these methods are efficient; however, the most preferred are the official repository of Docker and the method of using deb package files because they provide the latest version of Docker along with its new features and updates. The simplest and quickest ways are the methods using the snap or using the shell script.
