Install Docker & Docker compose

How to install Docker & Docker compose on Debian 12, how do you do that?

How to install Docker in Debian Linux 12

What is Docker?

Docker is an open-source platform that makes it easy to package software into containers. Each container contains all the necessary components—such as code, libraries, and settings—so you can quickly and consistently deploy your applications across environments.

What can you do with it?

With Docker, you don’t have to worry about versions or dependencies clashing because each container runs in its own isolated environment. Whether you want to develop locally, scale in the cloud, or even deploy Docker containers within Proxmox (LXC) environments, Docker makes managing and scaling your software a lot easier. This allows you to test new applications faster and ensure your applications run reliably everywhere.

Step 1 - Update your system

First update the package sources and installed packages:

apt update && apt upgrade -y

Step 2 - Install required packages

Install the necessary packages for adding the Docker repository:

apt install -y ca-certificates curl gnupg

Step 3 - Add the Docker GPG key

Create the folder for the keyring and add the GPG key:

mkdir -p /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/debian/gpg | gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg
chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg

Step 4 - Add the Docker repository

Configure the Docker repository:

echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg] https://download.docker.com/linux/debian bookworm stable" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list

Step 5 - Install Docker

Update the package list and install Docker with the required components:

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

Step 6 - Check the installation

Check that Docker is installed correctly by running a test container:

docker run hello-world

Check the Docker Compose version:

docker compose version

=> You should now have successfully installed Docker and Docker Compose on Debian 12..

This brings us to the end of this step-by-step plan, I hope you found it useful!