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    Elastic Compute Service:Install and use Docker on Linux

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    Elastic Compute Service:Install and use Docker on Linux

    Last Updated:Jul 15, 2026

    Install Docker and Docker Compose on various Linux distributions to containerize applications for portable, standardized deployment.

    Install Docker

    Alibaba Cloud Linux 3

    Before installing Docker, uninstall all existing Docker components to prevent conflicts.

    Uninstall older versions of Docker

    1. Uninstall older Docker versions and related packages.

      You can ignore any messages that indicate a package is not installed.
      #Remove Docker-related sources
sudo rm -f /etc/yum.repos.d/docker*.repo
#Uninstall Docker and related packages
sudo dnf -y remove \
docker-ce \
containerd.io \
docker-ce-rootless-extras \
docker-buildx-plugin \
docker-ce-cli \
docker-compose-plugin

    2. Uninstalling Docker does not remove images, containers, volumes, or networks stored in /var/lib/docker/. Manually delete this directory if needed.

    1. Install Docker Community Edition.

      If you are not using an Alibaba Cloud server, replace http://mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com with https://mirrors.aliyun.com
      #Add the Docker package repository
sudo wget -O /etc/yum.repos.d/docker-ce.repo http://mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com/docker-ce/linux/centos/docker-ce.repo
sudo sed -i 's|https://mirrors.aliyun.com|http://mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com|g' /etc/yum.repos.d/docker-ce.repo
#Install the dnf repository compatibility plugin for Alibaba Cloud Linux 3
sudo dnf -y install dnf-plugin-releasever-adapter --repo alinux3-plus
#Install Docker Community Edition, the containerd.io container runtime, and the Docker Buildx and Compose plugins
sudo dnf -y install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

    2. Start Docker and enable auto-start on boot.

      #Start Docker
sudo systemctl start docker
#Set the Docker daemon to start automatically on system boot
sudo systemctl enable docker

    Alibaba Cloud Linux 4

    Before installing Docker, uninstall all existing Docker components to prevent conflicts.

    Uninstall older versions of Docker

    1. Uninstall older Docker versions and related packages.

      #Remove Docker-related sources
sudo rm -f /etc/yum.repos.d/docker*.repo
#Uninstall Docker and related packages
sudo dnf -y remove \  
docker \
moby \
docker-ce \
containerd.io \
docker-ce-rootless-extras \
docker-buildx-plugin \
docker-ce-cli \
docker-compose-plugin

    2. Uninstalling Docker does not remove images, containers, volumes, or networks stored in /var/lib/docker/. Manually delete this directory if needed.

    1. Install Docker.

      Install Moby from Alibaba Cloud Linux repository

      Moby contains the complete core functionality of Docker. In Alibaba Cloud Linux 4, the container engine is provided natively by the moby package. After installing moby, the system commands, service name (dockerd), API, and container images are fully compatible with standard Docker.

      sudo yum install -y moby

      Install Docker CE from Docker CE repository

      For non-Alibaba Cloud servers, replace http://mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com with https://mirrors.aliyun.com. Select a CentOS-compatible version from the Docker CE repository, and confirm that the old Docker version has been removed before installation.

      #Add the Docker CE package repository
sudo wget -O /etc/yum.repos.d/docker-ce.repo http://mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com/docker-ce/linux/centos/docker-ce.repo
sudo sed -i 's|https://mirrors.aliyun.com|http://mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com|g' /etc/yum.repos.d/docker-ce.repo

#You must select which CentOS version to install, such as CentOS 9 or CentOS 10, and then replace $releasever with the corresponding version number.
# To use CentOS 9, run:
sudo sed -i 's|$releasever|9|' /etc/yum.repos.d/docker-ce.repo
# To use CentOS 10, run:
sudo sed -i 's|$releasever|10|' /etc/yum.repos.d/docker-ce.repo

#Install Docker Community Edition, the containerd.io container runtime, and the Docker Buildx and Compose plugins
sudo dnf -y install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin
      Note

      To switch back to the Moby container runtime natively provided by Alibaba Cloud Linux 4 after using Docker CE, remove the Docker CE components and disable the CentOS repository first.

      sudo yum remove -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli
sudo rm -rf /etc/yum.repos.d/docker-ce.repo

    2. Start Docker and enable auto-start on boot.

      # Start the service and enable it to start on boot
sudo systemctl start docker
sudo systemctl enable docker

# Verify the installation
docker --version  # This will display the installed version
    Note

    • Moby is the default container runtime and will continue to receive updates.

    • Older Docker components remain usable for forward compatibility but will not receive updates.

    Ubuntu

    Before installing Docker, uninstall all existing Docker components to prevent conflicts.

    Uninstall older versions of Docker

    1. Uninstall older Docker versions and related packages.

      You can ignore any messages that indicate a package is not installed.
      #Remove Docker-related sources
sudo rm -f /etc/apt/sources.list.d/*docker*.list
#Uninstall Docker and related packages
for pkg in docker.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-ce-cli docker-ce-rootless-extras docker-compose-plugin docker-doc docker-compose podman-docker containerd runc; do sudo apt-get remove -y $pkg; done

    2. Uninstalling Docker does not remove images, containers, volumes, or networks stored in /var/lib/docker/. Manually delete this directory if needed.

    1. Install Docker Community Edition.

      If you are not using an Alibaba Cloud server, replace http://mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com with https://mirrors.aliyun.com
      #Update the package management tool
sudo apt-get update
#Add the Docker package repository
sudo apt-get -y install apt-transport-https ca-certificates curl software-properties-common
sudo curl -fsSL http://mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com/docker-ce/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo apt-key add -
sudo add-apt-repository -y "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture)] http://mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com/docker-ce/linux/ubuntu $(lsb_release -cs) stable"
#Install Docker Community Edition, the containerd.io container runtime, and the Docker Buildx and Compose plugins
sudo apt-get -y install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

    2. Start Docker and enable auto-start on boot.

      #Start Docker
sudo systemctl start docker
#Set the Docker daemon to start automatically on system boot
sudo systemctl enable docker

    Debian

    Before installing Docker, uninstall all existing Docker components to prevent conflicts.

    Uninstall older versions of Docker

    1. Uninstall older Docker versions and related packages.

      You can ignore any messages that indicate a package is not installed.
      #Remove Docker-related sources
sudo rm -f /etc/apt/sources.list.d/*docker*.list
#Uninstall Docker and related packages
for pkg in docker.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-ce-cli docker-ce-rootless-extras docker-compose-plugin docker-doc docker-compose podman-docker containerd runc; do sudo apt-get remove -y $pkg; done

    2. Uninstalling Docker does not remove images, containers, volumes, or networks stored in /var/lib/docker/. Manually delete this directory if needed.

    1. Install Docker Community Edition.

      If you are not using an Alibaba Cloud server, replace http://mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com with https://mirrors.aliyun.com
      #Update the package management tool
sudo apt-get update
#Add the Docker package repository
sudo apt-get -y install apt-transport-https ca-certificates curl software-properties-common
sudo curl -fsSL http://mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com/docker-ce/linux/debian/gpg | sudo apt-key add -
sudo add-apt-repository -y "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture)] http://mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com/docker-ce/linux/debian $(lsb_release -cs) stable"
#Install Docker Community Edition, the containerd.io container runtime, and the Docker Buildx and Compose plugins
sudo apt-get -y install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

    2. Start Docker and enable auto-start on boot.

      #Start Docker
sudo systemctl start docker
#Set the Docker daemon to start automatically on system boot
sudo systemctl enable docker

    Red Hat

    Before installing Docker, uninstall all existing Docker components to prevent conflicts.

    Uninstall older versions of Docker

    1. Uninstall older Docker versions and related packages.

      You can ignore any messages that indicate a package is not installed.
      #Remove Docker-related sources
sudo rm -f /etc/yum.repos.d/docker*.repo
#Uninstall old versions of Docker and related packages
sudo yum -y remove \
docker-ce \
containerd.io \
docker-ce-rootless-extras \
docker-buildx-plugin \
docker-ce-cli \
docker-compose-plugin

    2. Uninstalling Docker does not remove images, containers, volumes, or networks stored in /var/lib/docker/. Manually delete this directory if needed.

    1. Install Docker Community Edition.

      If you are not using an Alibaba Cloud server, replace http://mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com with https://mirrors.aliyun.com
      #Add the Docker package repository
sudo wget -O /etc/yum.repos.d/docker-ce.repo http://mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com/docker-ce/linux/rhel/docker-ce.repo
sudo sed -i 's|https://mirrors.aliyun.com|http://mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com|g' /etc/yum.repos.d/docker-ce.repo
#Install Docker Community Edition, the containerd.io container runtime, and the Docker Buildx and Compose plugins
sudo yum -y install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

    2. Start Docker and enable auto-start on boot.

      #Start Docker
sudo systemctl start docker
#Set the Docker daemon to start automatically on system boot
sudo systemctl enable docker

    Fedora

    Before installing Docker, uninstall all existing Docker components to prevent conflicts.

    Uninstall older versions of Docker

    1. Uninstall older Docker versions and related packages.

      You can ignore any messages that indicate a package is not installed.
      #Remove Docker-related sources
sudo rm -f /etc/yum.repos.d/docker*.repo
#Uninstall Docker and related packages
sudo dnf -y remove \
docker-ce \
containerd.io \
docker-ce-rootless-extras \
docker-buildx-plugin \
docker-ce-cli \
docker-compose-plugin

    2. Uninstalling Docker does not remove images, containers, volumes, or networks stored in /var/lib/docker/. Manually delete this directory if needed.

    1. Install Docker Community Edition.

      If you are not using an Alibaba Cloud server, replace http://mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com with https://mirrors.aliyun.com
      #Add the Docker package repository
sudo wget -O /etc/yum.repos.d/docker-ce.repo http://mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com/docker-ce/linux/fedora/docker-ce.repo
sudo sed -i 's|https://mirrors.aliyun.com|http://mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com|g' /etc/yum.repos.d/docker-ce.repo
#Install Docker Community Edition, the containerd.io container runtime, and the Docker Buildx and Compose plugins
sudo dnf -y install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

    2. Start Docker and enable auto-start on boot.

      #Start Docker
sudo systemctl start docker
#Set the Docker daemon to start automatically on system boot
sudo systemctl enable docker

    Anolis OS

    Before installing Docker, uninstall all existing Docker components to prevent conflicts.

    Uninstall older versions of Docker

    1. Uninstall older Docker versions and related packages.

      You can ignore any messages that indicate a package is not installed.
      #Remove Docker-related sources
sudo rm -f /etc/yum.repos.d/docker*.repo
#Uninstall old versions of Docker and related packages
sudo yum -y remove \
docker-ce \
containerd.io \
docker-ce-rootless-extras \
docker-buildx-plugin \
docker-ce-cli \
docker-compose-plugin

    2. Uninstalling Docker does not remove images, containers, volumes, or networks stored in /var/lib/docker/. Manually delete this directory if needed.

    1. Install Docker Community Edition.

      If you are not using an Alibaba Cloud server, replace http://mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com with https://mirrors.aliyun.com
      #Add the Docker package repository
sudo wget -O /etc/yum.repos.d/docker-ce.repo http://mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com/docker-ce/linux/centos/docker-ce.repo
sudo sed -i 's|https://mirrors.aliyun.com|http://mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com|g' /etc/yum.repos.d/docker-ce.repo
#Install Docker Community Edition, the containerd.io container runtime, and the Docker Buildx and Compose plugins
sudo yum -y install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

    2. Start Docker and enable auto-start on boot.

      #Start Docker
sudo systemctl start docker
#Set the Docker daemon to start automatically on system boot
sudo systemctl enable docker

    Alibaba Cloud Linux 2

    Before installing Docker, uninstall all existing Docker components to prevent conflicts.

    Uninstall older versions of Docker

    1. Uninstall older Docker versions and related packages.

      You can ignore any messages that indicate a package is not installed.
      #Remove Docker-related sources
sudo rm -f /etc/yum.repos.d/docker*.repo
#Uninstall old versions of Docker and related packages
sudo yum -y remove \
docker-ce \
containerd.io \
docker-ce-rootless-extras \
docker-buildx-plugin \
docker-ce-cli \
docker-compose-plugin

    2. Uninstalling Docker does not remove images, containers, volumes, or networks stored in /var/lib/docker/. Manually delete this directory if needed.

    1. Install Docker Community Edition.

      If you are not using an Alibaba Cloud server, replace http://mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com with https://mirrors.aliyun.com
      #Add the Docker package repository
sudo wget -O /etc/yum.repos.d/docker-ce.repo http://mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com/docker-ce/linux/centos/docker-ce.repo
sudo sed -i 's|https://mirrors.aliyun.com|http://mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com|g' /etc/yum.repos.d/docker-ce.repo
#Install the yum repository compatibility plugin for Alibaba Cloud Linux 2
sudo yum install yum-plugin-releasever-adapter --disablerepo=* --enablerepo=plus
#Install Docker Community Edition, the containerd.io container runtime, and the Docker Buildx and Compose plugins
sudo yum -y install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

    2. Start Docker and enable auto-start on boot.

      #Start Docker
sudo systemctl start docker
#Set the Docker daemon to start automatically on system boot
sudo systemctl enable docker

    CentOS 7.x

    Before installing Docker, uninstall all existing Docker components to prevent conflicts.

    Uninstall older versions of Docker

    1. Uninstall older Docker versions and related packages.

      You can ignore any messages that indicate a package is not installed.
      #Remove Docker-related sources
sudo rm -f /etc/yum.repos.d/docker*.repo
#Uninstall old versions of Docker and related packages
sudo yum -y remove \
docker-ce \
containerd.io \
docker-ce-rootless-extras \
docker-buildx-plugin \
docker-ce-cli \
docker-compose-plugin

    2. Uninstalling Docker does not remove images, containers, volumes, or networks stored in /var/lib/docker/. Manually delete this directory if needed.

    1. Install Docker Community Edition.

      If you are not using an Alibaba Cloud server, replace http://mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com with https://mirrors.aliyun.com
      #Add the Docker package repository
sudo wget -O /etc/yum.repos.d/docker-ce.repo http://mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com/docker-ce/linux/centos/docker-ce.repo
sudo sed -i 's|https://mirrors.aliyun.com|http://mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com|g' /etc/yum.repos.d/docker-ce.repo
#Install Docker Community Edition, the containerd.io container runtime, and the Docker Buildx and Compose plugins
sudo yum -y install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

    2. Start Docker and enable auto-start on boot.

      #Start Docker
sudo systemctl start docker
#Set the Docker daemon to start automatically on system boot
sudo systemctl enable docker

    CentOS 8.x

    Before installing Docker, uninstall all existing Docker components to prevent conflicts.

    Uninstall older versions of Docker

    1. Uninstall older Docker versions and related packages.

      You can ignore any messages that indicate a package is not installed.
      #Remove Docker-related sources
sudo rm -f /etc/yum.repos.d/docker*.repo
#Uninstall Docker and related packages
sudo dnf -y remove \
docker-ce \
containerd.io \
docker-ce-rootless-extras \
docker-buildx-plugin \
docker-ce-cli \
docker-compose-plugin

    2. Uninstalling Docker does not remove images, containers, volumes, or networks stored in /var/lib/docker/. Manually delete this directory if needed.

    1. Install Docker Community Edition.

      If you are not using an Alibaba Cloud server, replace http://mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com with https://mirrors.aliyun.com
      #Add the Docker package repository
sudo wget -O /etc/yum.repos.d/docker-ce.repo http://mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com/docker-ce/linux/centos/docker-ce.repo
sudo sed -i 's|https://mirrors.aliyun.com|http://mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com|g' /etc/yum.repos.d/docker-ce.repo
#Install Docker Community Edition, the containerd.io container runtime, and the Docker Buildx and Compose plugins
sudo dnf -y install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

    2. Start Docker and enable auto-start on boot.

      #Start Docker
sudo systemctl start docker
#Set the Docker daemon to start automatically on system boot
sudo systemctl enable docker

    Deploy a web application

    1. Build the image.

      #Pull the latest Nginx image
sudo docker pull nginx:latest
#Create a Dockerfile that sets Nginx as the base image and creates an index.html file that displays "Hello World!" in the web server's root directory.
sudo tee Dockerfile <<-'EOF'
FROM nginx:latest
RUN echo 'Hello World!' > /usr/share/nginx/html/index.html
EOF
#Build the image and name it hello-world
sudo docker build . -t hello-world:latest

    2. Start a container named hello-world from the image.

      sudo docker run -d -p 80:80 --name hello-world hello-world:latest

    3. Verify the deployment by running curl http://localhost. The output should display Hello World!.

    Install Docker Compose

    Use Docker Compose to define and run multi-container applications from a single YAML file.

    Alibaba Cloud Linux, CentOS, Red Hat, Anolis, Fedora

    sudo yum -y install docker-compose-plugin

    Ubuntu, Debian

    sudo apt-get -y install docker-compose-plugin

    Deploy an application

    1. Create a docker-compose.yaml file.

      #Create the orchestration file and add MySQL and WordPress services
sudo tee docker-compose.yaml <<-'EOF'
version: '3.1'

services:
  wordpress:
    image: wordpress
    restart: always
    ports:
      - "80:80"
    environment:
      #Database host address
      WORDPRESS_DB_HOST: wordpress_db
      #Database username
      WORDPRESS_DB_USER: wordpress
      #Database password
      WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD: ${WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD}
      #Database name
      WORDPRESS_DB_NAME: wordpress
    volumes:
      - wordpress:/var/www/html

  db:
    image: mysql:5.7
    restart: always
    container_name: wordpress_db
    environment:
      #Database name
      MYSQL_DATABASE: wordpress
      #Database username
      MYSQL_USER: wordpress
      #Database password
      MYSQL_PASSWORD: ${WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD}
      #Database root user password
      MYSQL_RANDOM_ROOT_PASSWORD: ${WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD}
    volumes:
      - db:/var/lib/mysql

volumes:
  wordpress:
  db:
EOF

    2. Start WordPress. Replace <database_password> with your MySQL password.

      Docker Compose V2 uses a space instead of a hyphen, for example, docker compose version.
      #Start the service containers.
sudo env "PATH=$PATH" "WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD=<database_password>" docker compose -f docker-compose.yaml up -d

    3. Open http://<Public_IP_address_of_your_ECS_instance> in a browser to access WordPress.

      Verify that your security group allows inbound traffic on port 80.

    FAQ

    How do I run Docker as a non-root user?

    Docker commands require root privileges (via sudo) by default. To avoid using sudo for every command, add your user to the docker group.

    1. Add your user to the docker group.

      sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

    2. Run newgrp docker to apply the change. You can then use docker commands without sudo. Log out and log back in for the change to persist.

    Why is http://mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com inaccessible?

    • Symptom: http://mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com is inaccessible.

    • Cause: Network instability.

    • Solution: Replace http://mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com with https://mirrors.aliyun.com.

      Using https://mirrors.aliyun.com requires a public IP address. See Enable Internet access.

    Why does the dnf config-manager command fail?

    • Symptom: Running dnf config-manager shows a deprecation warning:

      /usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/dnf/const.py:22: DeprecationWarning: The distutils package is deprecated and slated for removal in Python 3.12. Use setuptools or check PEP 632 for potential alternatives.

    • Cause: Outdated dnf version.

    • Solution: Update dnf by running sudo dnf update dnf, then retry Docker installation.

    Why does the dnf install docker-ce command fail?

    • Symptom: Running dnf -y install docker-ce fails with a download error:

      (8-9/12): docker-ce-24.0.7-1.el8.x86_64.rpm 38% [================- ] 8.2 MB/s | 38 MB 00:07 ETA
The downloaded packages were saved in cache until the next successful transaction.
You can remove cached packages by executing 'dnf clean packages'.
Error: Error downloading packages:
containerd.io-1.6.26-3.1.el8.x86_64: Cannot download, all mirrors were already tried without success.

    • Cause: Outdated package cache.

    • Solution: Run sudo dnf clean packages, then retry the docker installation.

    • Symptom: Running dnf -y install docker-ce fails with a metadata download error:

      CentOS- Base                                                                                                                         0.0  B/s |   0  B     00:30    
Errors during downloading metadata for repository 'base':
  - Curl error (6): Couldn't resolve host name for http://mirror.centos.org/os/BaseOS/x86_64/os/repodata/repomd.xml [Could not resolve host: mirror.aliyuncs.com]
  - Curl error (28): Timeout was reached for http://mirror.centos.org/os/BaseOS/x86_64/os/repodata/repomd.xml [Connection timed out after 30000 milliseconds]
  - Curl error (6): Couldn't resolve host name for http://mirror.centos.org/os/BaseOS/x86_64/os/repodata/repomd.xml [Could not resolve host: mirror.cloud.aliyuncs.com]
Error: Failed to download metadata for repo 'base': Cannot download repomd.xml: Cannot download repodata/repomd.xml: All mirrors were tried

    • Cause: Discontinued CentOS 8 repository.

    • Solution: Replace the discontinued CentOS 8 repository with an Alibaba Cloud mirror.

      # Back up the expired software source.
sudo mv /etc/yum.repos.d/CentOS-Base.repo /etc/yum.repos.d/CentOS-Base.repo.backup
# Download the Alibaba Cloud-provided CentOS-Base.repo to /etc/yum.repos.d/.
wget -O /etc/yum.repos.d/CentOS-Base.repo http://mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com/repo/Centos-vault-8.5.2111.repo
# Replace the software source address in the Alibaba Cloud source with an address accessible to ECS.
sudo sed -i 's/mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com/url_tmp/g' /etc/yum.repos.d/CentOS-Base.repo && sudo sed -i 's/mirrors.aliyun.com/mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com/g' /etc/yum.repos.d/CentOS-Base.repo && sudo sed -i 's/url_tmp/mirrors.aliyun.com/g' /etc/yum.repos.d/CentOS-Base.repo
# Clear the old cache and generate a new one.
sudo yum clean all && sudo yum makecache

      Then retry the docker installation.

    References