Docker Tutorials: Compose, Images, Networks

This section collects our Docker tutorials, from installing the engine on a fresh server to running multi-container applications with Docker Compose. The focus is on the everyday questions that come up when you run containers yourself: which install method to trust, how to keep images small, why two containers cannot reach each other, where your data actually lives, and how to update a stack without losing it.

Examples are written to be reproducible. Commands that we ran ourselves were executed in disposable containers on our own server and the guide shows the date of that check. Compose files are validated before they are published, and anything that depends on your hardware or cloud provider is clearly marked so you know what to adapt.

Docker sits at the centre of many other topics on this site. If you run local AI models in containers, the Local AI section covers the model side. If you deploy containers to Kubernetes or through a pipeline, the DevOps section continues from here, and the Security section explains how to harden what you run.

What this section covers

  • Installing Docker Engine and Compose on Ubuntu and Debian
  • Docker Compose files for real applications, updates and backups
  • Smaller, safer images: multi-stage builds and base image choices
  • Container networking, ports, DNS and reverse proxies
  • Volumes, bind mounts, permissions and data persistence

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