{"id":441,"date":"2026-06-17T09:33:31","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T09:33:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/virtualserversvps.com\/blog\/?p=441"},"modified":"2026-06-17T09:33:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T09:33:31","slug":"setting-up-docker-on-vps-step-by-step","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/virtualserversvps.com\/blog\/setting-up-docker-on-vps-step-by-step\/","title":{"rendered":"Setting Up Docker on a VPS: Step-by-Step for Beginners"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Docker lets you package applications and their dependencies into lightweight, portable containers that run identically on any Linux server. Deploying Docker on a VPS gives you the isolation of virtual machines without the overhead, making it ideal for hosting multiple web apps, APIs, or databases on a single server. This guide covers installing Docker on Ubuntu 24.04, running your first container, and securing the setup for production. Compare VPS plans on our site<\/a> to find a provider with the resources to run multiple containers smoothly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prerequisites: Minimum VPS Specs for Docker<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Docker itself is lightweight (the daemon uses ~100 MB RAM at idle), but your containers need memory too. For a typical setup hosting 3\u20135 containers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Component<\/th>Minimum<\/th>Recommended<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
CPU<\/td>1 vCPU<\/td>2 vCPU<\/td><\/tr>
RAM<\/td>1 GB<\/td>2\u20134 GB<\/td><\/tr>
Storage<\/td>20 GB<\/td>40 GB NVMe<\/td><\/tr>
OS<\/td>Ubuntu 22.04+<\/td>Ubuntu 24.04 LTS<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Step 1: Install Docker Engine<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Use the official Docker repository for the latest stable release. Do not use apt install docker.io<\/code> \u2014 that version is often outdated:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

# Remove old versions (if any)\nfor pkg in docker.io docker-doc docker-compose docker-compose-v2 podman-docker containerd runc; do sudo apt-get remove $pkg; done\n\n# Add Docker's official GPG key\nsudo apt-get update\nsudo apt-get install ca-certificates curl -y\nsudo install -m 0755 -d \/etc\/apt\/keyrings\nsudo curl -fsSL https:\/\/download.docker.com\/linux\/ubuntu\/gpg -o \/etc\/apt\/keyrings\/docker.asc\nsudo chmod a+r \/etc\/apt\/keyrings\/docker.asc\n\n# Add the repository\n# Replace \"noble\" with your Ubuntu codename if different\necho \"deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=\/etc\/apt\/keyrings\/docker.asc] https:\/\/download.docker.com\/linux\/ubuntu $(. \/etc\/os-release && echo \"$VERSION_CODENAME\") stable\" | sudo tee \/etc\/apt\/sources.list.d\/docker.list > \/dev\/null\nsudo apt-get update\n\n# Install Docker packages\nsudo apt-get install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin -y<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Verify the installation: sudo docker run hello-world<\/code>. If you see the Hello from Docker! message, everything is working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Step 2: Run Docker Without Sudo (Post-Install)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
By default, Docker requires sudo. Adding your user to the docker<\/code> group eliminates this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER\n# Log out and back in (or run: newgrp docker)\n# Test:\ndocker run hello-world<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Security note<\/strong>: The docker<\/code> group grants root-equivalent privileges. On a multi-user VPS, consider using rootless Docker (Docker’s rootless mode) instead of the group approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Step 3: Deploy a Real Application with Docker Compose<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Docker Compose lets you define multi-container applications in a YAML file. Here is a complete example that runs Nginx + PHP + MariaDB for a WordPress site:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
# docker-compose.yml\nversion: '3.8'\n\nservices:\n  db:\n    image: mariadb:10.11\n    volumes:\n      - db_data:\/var\/lib\/mysql\n    restart: always\n    environment:\n      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: your_root_password\n      MYSQL_DATABASE: wordpress\n      MYSQL_USER: wpuser\n      MYSQL_PASSWORD: wp_password\n\n  wordpress:\n    image: wordpress:latest\n    ports:\n      - \"8080:80\"\n    restart: always\n    environment:\n      WORDPRESS_DB_HOST: db:3306\n      WORDPRESS_DB_USER: wpuser\n      WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD: wp_password\n      WORDPRESS_DB_NAME: wordpress\n    volumes:\n      - wp_data:\/var\/www\/html\n\nvolumes:\n  db_data:\n  wp_data:<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Deploy with: docker compose up -d<\/code>. Access WordPress at http:\/\/your-vps-ip:8080<\/code>. Add a reverse proxy (Nginx on the host, or another container) to serve on port 443 with SSL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Step 4: Secure Docker on Your VPS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n