How to Install Docker & Deploy Your First App (Ubuntu/Debian)

This guide covers installing Docker Engine + Docker Compose from the official Docker repository, through deploying your first app with a docker-compose.yml. All commands use an auto-detect approach for architecture & OS version to avoid errors from wrong codenames or bad copy-pastes.

System Requirements

• OS: Ubuntu 20.04 / 22.04 / 24.04 or Debian 11 / 12
• Architecture: x86_64 (amd64) or arm64
• sudo or root access
• Internet connection

Part 1 — Install Docker Engine

1. 1

   Remove Old Versions (if any)

   Remove all old Docker packages at once. Ignore errors if the packages aren't installed yet.

   apt remove -y docker.io docker-doc docker-compose docker-compose-v2 containerd runc
   apt autoremove -y

2. 2

   Update & Install Prerequisites

   apt update && apt install -y ca-certificates curl gnupg

3. 3

   Create Directory for GPG Key

   mkdir -p /etc/apt/keyrings

4. 4

   Download Docker's Official GPG Key

   The command below automatically detects Ubuntu or Debian — no need to choose manually.

   . /etc/os-release
   curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/$ID/gpg -o /tmp/docker.gpg
   gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg /tmp/docker.gpg
   rm /tmp/docker.gpg
   chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg

5. 5

   Add the Docker Repository

   The tee command below writes the repository line to the docker.list file automatically — with the architecture, distro, and codename filled in.

   This is the step that most often causes errors. Do not type the deb [...] line directly in the terminal — it must be written to the docker.list file. Use the tee command below.

   . /etc/os-release
   echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg] https://download.docker.com/linux/$ID $VERSION_CODENAME stable" | tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list

   Verify the file contents are correct:

   cat /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list

   Example correct output (Ubuntu 22.04 amd64):
   deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu jammy stable
6. 6

   Install Docker Engine + Plugins

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

7. 7

   Start & Enable Docker on Boot

   enable --now = start immediately + run automatically on every reboot.

   Don't skip this! Without this step, docker compose up will fail with "Cannot connect to the Docker daemon... Is the docker daemon running?" — even though the installation succeeded.

   systemctl enable --now docker
   systemctl enable --now containerd

8. 8

   Verify Installation

   docker --version
   docker compose version
   docker run hello-world

   If you see "Hello from Docker!", the installation was successful.

9. 9

   Run Docker Without sudo (Optional)

   usermod -aG docker $USER
   newgrp docker   # or logout & log back in

   Security note: Users in the docker group have root-equivalent access. Only add trusted users.

Part 2 — Deploy Your First App (Docker Compose)

As an example, we'll deploy Filebrowser (a web file manager). The pattern is the same for any other app: create a folder → write docker-compose.yml → run it.

1. 1

   Create a Folder

   mkdir -p ~/filebrowser && cd ~/filebrowser
   mkdir -p /srv/downloads        # folder to be managed

2. 2

   Create docker-compose.yml

   nano docker-compose.yml

   Fill it with the following configuration:

   services:
     filebrowser:
       image: filebrowser/filebrowser:latest
       container_name: filebrowser
       restart: unless-stopped
       ports:
         - "8080:80"                 # left = host port (change if 8080 is taken)
       environment:
         - FB_DATABASE=/database/filebrowser.db
         - FB_ROOT=/srv              # root folder to manage
         - FB_LOG=stdout
         - FB_NOAUTH=false           # MUST be false to require login
         - TZ=Asia/Jakarta
       volumes:
         - /srv/downloads:/srv       # file storage, point to a large disk
         - filebrowser_db:/database  # database (named volume, auto-created)
         - filebrowser_config:/config
       healthcheck:
         test: ["CMD", "wget", "-q", "--spider", "http://localhost:80/health"]
         interval: 30s
         timeout: 5s
         retries: 3
   
   volumes:
     filebrowser_db:
     filebrowser_config:

   Save: Ctrl + O → Enter. Exit: Ctrl + X.

   Tip: Always use restart: unless-stopped so the container automatically comes back up after a server reboot.
3. 3

   Run It

   -d = run in the background (detached). Docker will automatically download the image and start the container.

   docker compose up -d

4. 4

   Check Status

   docker compose ps           # service status
   docker compose logs -f      # view logs (Ctrl+C to exit)

   Open in browser: http://SERVER-IP:8080. Default Filebrowser login: user admin, password admin — change it immediately after logging in.

Part 3 — Command Cheatsheet

# Containers
docker ps                      # running containers
docker ps -a                   # all containers (including stopped)
docker logs -f <name>          # view logs
docker exec -it <name> bash    # enter container shell

# Compose (run from the folder containing docker-compose.yml)
docker compose up -d           # start all services
docker compose down            # stop & remove containers
docker compose restart <svc>   # restart a specific service
docker compose pull && docker compose up -d   # update image then restart

# Cleanup
docker system df               # check disk usage
docker system prune -a         # remove unused resources (use with caution)

Part 4 — Troubleshooting