Looking for a simple tutorial on how to install Docker on Debian 12? This is it! Docker is an open-source platform for developing, shipping, and running applications. It is designed to make it easier to create, deploy, and run applications by using containers. With Docker, developers can package their applications into standardized units called containers, which can then be run on any computer, regardless of the operating system or hardware. Docker allows developers to quickly and easily deploy their applications in a consistent environment, without having to worry about the underlying infrastructure. Docker also provides a rich set of tools and services for managing and monitoring applications, as well as for building and sharing images with other developers. Docker is an essential tool for modern software development, and it is used by many of the world's leading companies. In this tutorial, you’ll install and use Docker Community Edition (CE) on Debian 12.

Prerequisites for Installing Docker on Debian 12

• Basic knowledge of the Linux command line.
• An Debian 12 server with a non-root user with sudo privileges. You can get affordable, and powerful Debian servers from our website, and you can check out our How to access your server using SSH guide to learn how to access your server and create a sudo user.

Updating the Package Cache and Required Packages

Start by updating the packages in the package manager cache to the latest available versions using the following command:

sudo apt update

Next install a few packages that will allow us to use apt with HTTPS in order to add the official docker repository and get the latest version of Docker. To do this, run the following command:

sudo apt -y install apt-transport-https ca-certificates curl software-properties-common

Installing Docker

We will use the official Docker repository to install the latest version of Docker. First, add the GPG key for the official Docker repository to your Debian 12 system:

curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/debian/gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/docker-archive-keyring.gpg

Next add the official Docker repository to your APT sources:

echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/docker-archive-keyring.gpg] https://download.docker.com/linux/debian $(lsb_release -cs) stable" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null

Update your package index:

sudo apt update

Now, with the repository added, install the docker-ce package, which is the Docker Community Edition package:

sudo apt install docker-ce

Once the installation finishes, check that Docker is