Using docker on Linux Mint Debian Edition

Installing Docker on LMDE takes a few steps and will require that we add a third-party repository.

Note: We will be logged in as root to issue these commands. Also, I am by no means an expert on this, I am learning this as I go on.

So, with that out of the way let's add the key for the get.docker.io repository;

# apt-key adv --keyserver hkp://keyserver.ubuntu.com:80 --recv-keys 36A1D7869245C8950F966E92D8576A8BA88D21E9

Next add the repository to your apt sources;

# echo "deb http://get.docker.io/ubuntu docker main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list

Update apt;

# apt-get update

Install docker;

# apt-get install lxc-docker

Verify that it has worked by downloading and running the ubuntu container;

# docker run -i -t ubuntu /bin/bash
Unable to find image 'ubuntu' locally
Pulling repository ubuntu
e54ca5efa2e9: Download complete
511136ea3c5a: Download complete
d7ac5e4f1812: Download complete
2f4b4d6a4a06: Download complete
83ff768040a0: Download complete
6c37f792ddac: Download complete
root@46ec4b13f756:/#

Congratulations you are sitting in bash inside your ubuntu container. Type 'exit' or use ctrl-d to exit.

Note: It is important to understand that once you exit a container it ceases to run unless you specifically tell it not to (see below). It is not like a normal virtual machine that keeps on running in the background until you shut it down. To exit a container and have it remain running, use ctrl-p followed by crtl-q.

You probably dont want to be the root user every time you use docker. In that case simply add your user to the docker group;

# usermod -a -G docker myusername

You can list all the running containers with the 'docker ps' command. Add '-a to see the stopped ones as well.

Note: The containers that you create are kept in '/var/lib/docker/containers'

That's the basics of docker. The next thing to learn more about is using docker files to build containers.