Installing Docker

The easy path: Docker Desktop (Mac and Windows)

Download Docker Desktop, install it, launch it. It includes the Docker engine, the Compose plugin, and a GUI. On Windows it needs WSL2 (it will tell you).

Docker Desktop is free for personal use and small businesses; larger companies need a paid subscription. Check the current terms — they've changed before.

Linux: from your distro's repository

On Debian/Ubuntu/Mint:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install docker.io docker-compose-plugin

(Docker also publishes its own repository with newer versions; the distro package is simpler and fine for learning.)

Fedora: sudo dnf install docker docker-compose-plugin. Arch: sudo pacman -S docker docker-compose.

Then start the service and enable it at boot:

sudo systemctl start docker
sudo systemctl enable docker

The post-install step everyone skips (Linux)

By default, docker needs root. Typing sudo before every command gets old, so add yourself to the docker group:

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

Then log out and back in — group membership only applies to new logins.

Careful: The docker group is effectively root-equivalent. Anyone in it can mount the host's filesystem into a container and read anything. Only add users you trust as administrators — which, on your own machine, is you.

Verify it works

docker --version
docker compose version

Check: You see version numbers, e.g. Docker version 29.1.3 and Docker Compose version v5.6.0. (Yours will differ — that's fine.)

docker run hello-world

This downloads a tiny test image and runs it. Check (typical output, abbreviated):

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

If you see that, the engine, image downloads, and container startup all work.

Next: Your First Container