Initial Setup

Get Docker installed and run your first container. This guide walks you through installation and running your first containerized application.

🎯 What You’ll Accomplish

By the end of this tutorial, you’ll have:

• ✅ Docker installed and verified
• ✅ Your first container running
• ✅ Basic Docker commands understood

📋 Prerequisites

• Windows 10/11, macOS, or Linux
• Administrator/sudo privileges
• Basic command line familiarity

💾 Step 1: Install Docker

Windows/macOS

Download Docker Desktop from docker.com

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)

sudo apt update
sudo apt install ca-certificates curl gnupg
sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg
sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg

echo \
  "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu \
  $(. /etc/os-release && echo "$VERSION_CODENAME") stable" | \
  sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null

sudo apt update
sudo apt install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io

Verify Installation

docker --version
docker run hello-world

🚀 Step 2: Run Your First Container

docker run -d -p 8080:80 nginx

Visit http://localhost:8080 in your browser.

📊 Step 3: Basic Docker Commands

docker ps                    # List running containers
docker ps -a                 # List all containers
docker images               # List images
docker stop <container-id>  # Stop container
docker rm <container-id>    # Remove container

✅ Verification Checklist

Before moving forward, verify:

• docker --version shows Docker installed
• docker run hello-world executes successfully
• nginx container runs and serves content

🎉 You’re Done!

You’ve successfully installed Docker and run your first container.

📚 What’s Next?

Quick learner: Docker Quick Start

Code-first learner: Docker By Example