docs/desktop/install/debian.md

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Instructions for installing Docker Desktop on Debian	debian, install, uninstall, upgrade, update, linux, desktop, docker desktop, docker desktop for linux, dd4l	Install Docker Desktop on Debian	4	/desktop/linux/install/debian/

This page contains information on how to install, launch, and upgrade Docker Desktop on a Debian distribution.

Prerequisites

To install Docker Desktop successfully, you must:

• Meet the system requirements.
• Have a 64-bit version of Debian 11.
• Uninstall the tech preview or beta version of Docker Desktop for Linux. Run:

$ sudo apt remove docker-desktop

For a complete cleanup, remove configuration and data files at $HOME/.docker/desktop, the symlink at /usr/local/bin/com.docker.cli, and purge the remaining systemd service files.

$ rm -r $HOME/.docker/desktop
$ sudo rm /usr/local/bin/com.docker.cli
$ sudo apt purge docker-desktop

Note

If you have installed the Docker Desktop for Linux tech preview or beta version, you need to remove all files that were generated by those packages (eg. ~/.config/systemd/user/docker-desktop.service, ~/.local/share/systemd/user/docker-desktop.service).

For a Gnome Desktop environment, you must also install AppIndicator and KStatusNotifierItem Gnome extensions.

For non-Gnome Desktop environments, gnome-terminal must be installed:

$ sudo apt install gnome-terminal

Install Docker Desktop

Recommended approach to install Docker Desktop on Debian:

1. Set up Docker's package repository.

2. Download latest DEB package from the release page.

3. Install the package with apt as follows:

$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install ./docker-desktop-<version>-<arch>.deb

Note

At the end of the installation process, apt displays an error due to installing a downloaded package. You can ignore this error message.

N: Download is performed unsandboxed as root, as file '/home/user/Downloads/docker-desktop.deb' couldn't be accessed by user '_apt'. - pkgAcquire::Run (13: Permission denied)

There are a few post-install configuration steps done through the post-install script contained in the deb package.

The post-install script:

• Sets the capability on the Docker Desktop binary to map privileged ports and set resource limits.
• Adds a DNS name for Kubernetes to /etc/hosts.
• Creates a link from /usr/bin/docker to /usr/local/bin/com.docker.cli.

Launch Docker Desktop

{% include desktop-linux-launch.md %}

Upgrade Docker Desktop

Once a new version for Docker Desktop is released, the Docker UI shows a notification. You need to download the new package each time you want to upgrade Docker Desktop and run:

$ sudo apt-get install ./docker-desktop-<version>-<arch>.deb

Uninstall Docker Desktop

To remove Docker Desktop for Linux, run:

$ sudo apt remove docker-desktop

For a complete cleanup, remove configuration and data files at $HOME/.docker/desktop, the symlink at /usr/local/bin/com.docker.cli, and purge the remaining systemd service files.

$ rm -r $HOME/.docker/desktop
$ sudo rm /usr/local/bin/com.docker.cli
$ sudo apt purge docker-desktop

Remove the credsStore and currentContext properties from $HOME/.docker/config.json. Additionally, you must delete any edited configuration files manually.

Next steps

• Take a look at the Get started training modules to learn how to build an image and run it as a containerized application.
• Review the topics in Develop with Docker to learn how to build new applications using Docker.