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Docker and Portainer for the Raspberry PI: A Begginer’s Guide

Docker is a popular platform for deploying and managing containerized applications. By installing Docker on your Raspberry Pi, you can easily run and manage different applications and services in isolated containers, without worrying about conflicts or dependencies. There are a lot of resources that can help you setup docker, and at first it might seem overwhelming because of the sheer amount of information available. But after reading and the help of google you will find that the easiest way is to follow the instructions on the dockers docs, where they have a full breakdown of installing docker on the Raspberry PI. Docker Desktop is not required for all installations, and if you follow along here, you will notice that most resources available do not install docker desktop.

What you will you need

Before diving in, make sure you have the following:

  • A Raspberry Pi (preferably a Pi 3 or newer)
  • An active internet connection
  • Raspbian (or other compatible OS) installed on your Pi
  • Docker installed on your Raspberry Pi
  • Basic terminal knowledge

Preparing your Raspberry PI

Update Your System: Start by updating your Raspberry Pi’s packages. Open a terminal and run

Update your system

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

This ensures your system is updated and ready to install new software.

Install Docker

If docker is not installed, you can do so with

Docker Script

wget -qO- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pi-hosted/pi-hosted/master/install_docker.sh | bash

If you wish to do everything yourself, you can attempt following the resources below. Simply installing the docker engine software using the commands from terminal or using the script from docker helps a lot. Resources you can follow are below, if you wish to configure and setup docker manually, these resources are a great help.

Step by Step Quick Docker

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh
sudo sh get-docker.sh
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
newgrp docker
docker –version

sudo reboot

Deploying portainer

Installing Portainer, and Docker. Setting up the PI-Hosted Github link for templated Apps is the easiest method. This is an Automated setup script that creates the directories, install docker and then install Portainer. To install Portainer, you can read more detailed instrictions here or for manual install see below.

With Docker ready to roll, it’s time to install Portainer.

  1. Pull the Portainer Image: Run the following command to download the latest Portainer image: docker pull portainer/portainer-ce
  2. Create a Portainer Volume: Portainer stores its data on a persistent volume. Create one with: docker volume create portainer_data
  3. Start the Portainer Container: Use Docker to run the Portainer container: docker run -d -p 9000:9000 -p 8000:8000 –name=portainer \ –restart=always \ -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \ -v portainer_data:/data \ portainer/portainer-ce
    • -p 9000:9000 makes the Portainer web interface accessible at port 9000.
    • -p 8000:8000 is used for Portainer agent communication (optional).
    • The --restart=always flag ensures that Portainer restarts automatically if your Raspberry Pi reboots.
  4. Access Portainer: Open your browser and navigate to your Raspberry Pi’s IP address at port 9000 (e.g., http://:9000). Follow the setup wizard to complete the installation.

Enjoy Managing Your Containers

Once the setup is complete, you’ll find yourself at the Portainer dashboard. From here, you can create, manage, and monitor Docker containers with ease.

Conclusion

Portainer on a Raspberry Pi transforms container management into a simple and intuitive experience. With just a few commands, you can turn your Raspberry Pi into a powerful tool for your projects. Whether you’re a hobbyist exploring Docker or a professional looking for efficient management, Portainer is the perfect companion. Enjoy the journey, and happy coding!