docker-container-setup

When to Use

When you need to package applications into lightweight, portable containers for consistent deployment across different environments.

Prerequisites

• Operating system: Linux, macOS, or Windows
• Administrative privileges for installation
• Basic command line knowledge

Procedure

1. Install Docker: curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh && sh get-docker.sh
2. Start Docker service: sudo systemctl start docker
3. Enable Docker to start on boot: sudo systemctl enable docker
4. Add user to docker group: sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
5. Log out and back in to refresh group membership
6. Verify installation: docker --version
7. Test with hello-world container: docker run hello-world
8. Create a simple Dockerfile for your application: FROM alpine:latest COPY . /app WORKDIR /app CMD ["your-command"]

9. Build container image: docker build -t your-app .
10. Run your container: docker run -p 8080:80 your-app

Verification

• docker --version shows Docker version information
• docker ps lists running containers without errors
• docker images shows available container images

Pitfalls

• Forgetting to add user to docker group (requires logout/login)
• Running Docker commands without sudo before group membership takes effect
• Port conflicts when mapping container ports to host ports
• Insufficient disk space for container images and volumes

Sources

• https://www.docker.com/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Docker_(software)
• https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/docker
• https://github.com/docker
• https://www.reddit.com/r/docker/