How to Install Portainer on Debian Server

Portainer is a lightweight management UI that allows you to easily manage your Docker environments. This guide shows how to install Portainer on a Debian server step by step.

Step 1: Update Your System

Before installing anything, make sure your system packages are up to date:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2: Install Docker and Docker Compose

Install Required Dependencies

sudo apt install ca-certificates curl
sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings

Add Docker’s Official GPG Key

sudo curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/debian/gpg -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc
sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc

Add the Docker Repository

sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.sources <<EOF
Types: deb
URIs: https://download.docker.com/linux/debian
Suites: $(. /etc/os-release && echo "$VERSION_CODENAME")
Components: stable
Signed-By: /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc
EOF

Install Docker Engine and Plugins

sudo apt update
sudo apt install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

Step 3: Install Portainer

Create the Portainer Directory

cd /opt
sudo mkdir portainer
cd portainer

Create the Docker Compose File

sudo nano portainer-compose.yaml

Paste the following content:

services:
  portainer:
    container_name: portainer
    image: portainer/portainer-ce:lts
    restart: always
    volumes:
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
      - portainer_data:/data
    ports:
      - 9443:9443
      - 8000:8000  # Remove if you do not intend to use Edge Agents

volumes:
  portainer_data:
    name: portainer_data

networks:
  default:
    name: portainer_network

Save and exit the editor.

Start Portainer

sudo docker compose -f portainer-compose.yaml up -d

Step 4: Allow Portainer Through the Firewall

If you are using UFW, allow port 9443:

sudo ufw allow 9443

Step 5: Access the Portainer Web Interface

Open your browser and go to:

https://YOUR_SERVER_IP:9443

You will be prompted to create an admin account on first launch.

Video Walkthrough