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Athreya aka Maneshwar
Athreya aka Maneshwar

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Install Docker with Ansible on Ubuntu (Official Repo + Docker Compose)

#webdev #programming #ansible #docker

Hi there! I'm Maneshwar. Right now, I’m building LiveAPI, a first-of-its-kind tool that helps you automatically index API endpoints across all your repositories. LiveAPI makes it easier to discover, understand, and interact with APIs in large infrastructures.

If you're managing infrastructure with Ansible, installing Docker the right way — using Docker's official apt repository — ensures you're getting the latest stable version.

This post walks you through setting up Docker + Docker Compose on Ubuntu entirely via Ansible.

What This Playbook Does

  • Updates APT cache
  • Installs required dependencies
  • Adds Docker's official GPG key and APT repo
  • Installs Docker CE, CLI, Compose, Buildx, and Containerd
  • Enables and starts the Docker daemon
  • Adds your user (ubuntu) to the docker group so you don’t need sudo for every Docker command

Ansible Playbook: install-docker.yml 

--- - name: Install Docker on Ubuntu using official Docker repo hosts: all become: true tasks: - name: Update apt cache ansible.builtin.apt: update_cache: yes - name: Ensure dependencies are installed ansible.builtin.package: name: - bc - curl - expect - git - ca-certificates state: present - name: Create Docker GPG key directory ansible.builtin.file: path: /etc/apt/keyrings state: directory mode: "0755" - name: Download Docker's official GPG key ansible.builtin.get_url: url: https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg dest: /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc mode: "0644" - name: Add Docker repository to Apt sources ansible.builtin.apt_repository: repo: "deb [arch={{ ansible_architecture }} signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu {{ ansible_distribution_release }} stable" state: present filename: docker - name: Update apt cache after adding Docker repository ansible.builtin.apt: update_cache: yes - name: Install Docker and Docker Compose ansible.builtin.package: name: - docker-ce - docker-ce-cli - containerd.io - docker-buildx-plugin - docker-compose-plugin state: present - name: Ensure Docker service is enabled and started ansible.builtin.service: name: docker state: started enabled: yes - name: Add ubuntu user to docker group ansible.builtin.user: name: ubuntu groups: docker append: yes
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After Running the Playbook

Once this finishes:

  • Logout and log back in to apply the group change.
  • Confirm everything works: 
docker --version docker compose version docker run hello-world
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Why Use This Over apt install docker.io?

  • You get the latest Docker packages direct from Docker Inc.
  • It includes Buildx and Docker Compose v2 (plugin style).
  • Cleaner integration with CI/CD, servers, and dev boxes.

How to Run 

ansible-playbook -i inventory install-docker.yml
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Use your own inventory/host setup as needed.

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