How to Install Docker on a Raspberry Pi 5: A Step-by-Step Guide

The Raspberry Pi 5 is a powerful single-board computer perfect for building efficient and compact compute clusters. One of the most popular tools for deploying and managing containers in these clusters is Docker. Docker allows you to package applications into lightweight, portable containers, making it an excellent choice for microservices, development, and testing environments.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the process of installing Docker on a Raspberry Pi 5 running Raspberry Pi OS.

Step 1: Update and Prepare the Raspberry Pi

1. Open a terminal on your Raspberry Pi or SSH into it.
2. Run the following commands to update the system:
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   sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
   

3. Reboot the Raspberry Pi to apply any kernel updates:
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   sudo reboot
   

Step 2: Install Required Dependencies

1. Once the Raspberry Pi reboots, open the terminal and run:
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   sudo apt install -y apt-transport-https ca-certificates curl software-properties-common
   

Step 3: Download and Add Docker’s Official GPG Key

1. Add Docker’s GPG key:
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   curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/debian/gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/docker-archive-keyring.gpg
   

2. Add the Docker repository for ARM64:
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   echo "deb [arch=arm64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/docker-archive-keyring.gpg] https://download.docker.com/linux/debian $(lsb_release -cs) stable" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null
   

Step 4: Install Docker

1. Update the package list to include Docker’s repository: div class="code-window">
   bash Copy

   sudo apt update
   

2. Install Docker: div class="code-window">
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   sudo apt install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io
   

3. Verify that Docker is installed correctly: div class="code-window">
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   docker --version
   

   You should see the Docker version displayed, confirming a successful installation.

Step 5: Configure Docker

1. Add your user to the Docker group to avoid using sudo with Docker commands:
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   sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
   

2. Log out and log back in to apply group changes, or run:
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   newgrp docker
   

Step 6: Test Docker

1. Run a simple Docker container to ensure everything works:
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   docker run hello-world
   

   Docker will download the hello-world image, run it, and display a message confirming that Docker is installed and working correctly.

Step 7: (Optional) Enable Docker to Start on Boot

1. To ensure Docker starts automatically when your Raspberry Pi boots:
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   sudo systemctl enable docker
   

Conclusion

Docker is now installed and configured on your Raspberry Pi 5. With Docker, you can containerize applications, set up microservices, or create a powerful PicoCluster for distributed computing tasks.

If you’re looking to build multi-node clusters, consider using PicoCluster Raspberry Pi 5 to create scalable and portable compute environments with ease. Happy clustering!