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page_title: Installation from Binaries page_description: Instructions for installing Docker as a binary. Mostly meant for hackers who want to try out Docker on a variety of environments. page_keywords: binaries, installation, docker, documentation, linux
Binaries
This instruction set is meant for hackers who want to try out Docker on a variety of environments.
Before following these directions, you should really check if a packaged version of Docker is already available for your distribution. We have packages for many distributions, and more keep showing up all the time!
Check runtime dependencies
To run properly, docker needs the following software to be installed at runtime:
- iptables version 1.4 or later
- Git version 1.7 or later
- procps (or similar provider of a "ps" executable)
- XZ Utils 4.9 or later
- a properly mounted cgroupfs hierarchy (having a single, all-encompassing "cgroup" mount point is not sufficient)
Check kernel dependencies
Docker in daemon mode has specific kernel requirements. For details, check your distribution in Installation.
In general, a 3.8 Linux kernel is the minimum requirement for Docker, as some of the prior versions have known issues that are triggered by Docker. Linux kernel versions older than 3.8 are known to cause kernel panics and to break Docker.
The latest minor version (3.x.y) of the 3.10 (or a newer maintained version) Linux kernel is recommended. Keeping the kernel up to date with the latest minor version will ensure critical kernel bugs get fixed.
Note that Docker also has a client mode, which can run on virtually any Linux kernel (it even builds on OS X!).
Get the docker binary:
$ wget https://get.docker.com/builds/Linux/x86_64/docker-latest -O docker
$ chmod +x docker
Note
: If you have trouble downloading the binary, you can also get the smaller compressed release file: https://get.docker.com/builds/Linux/x86_64/docker-latest.tgz
Run the docker daemon
# start the docker in daemon mode from the directory you unpacked
$ sudo ./docker -d &
Giving non-root access
The docker daemon always runs as the root user, and the docker
daemon binds to a Unix socket instead of a TCP port. By default that
Unix socket is owned by the user root, and so, by default, you can
access it with sudo.
If you (or your Docker installer) create a Unix group called docker
and add users to it, then the docker daemon will make the ownership of
the Unix socket read/writable by the docker group when the daemon
starts. The docker daemon must always run as the root user, but if you
run the docker client as a user in the docker group then you don't
need to add sudo to all the client commands.
Warning
: The docker group (or the group specified with
-G) is root-equivalent; see Docker Daemon Attack Surface details.
Upgrades
To upgrade your manual installation of Docker, first kill the docker daemon:
$ killall docker
Then follow the regular installation steps.
Run your first container!
# check your docker version
$ sudo ./docker version
# run a container and open an interactive shell in the container
$ sudo ./docker run -i -t ubuntu /bin/bash
Continue with the User Guide.