Running Docker on Raspberry Pi: A Comprehensive Guide

Installing Docker

To install Docker on your Raspberry Pi, run the following command:

curl -sSL https://get.docker.com | sh

Adding Non-root User to Docker Group

Add the current user to the Docker group to execute Docker commands without sudo:

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

Installing Docker Compose

You can install Docker Compose using pip:

sudo pip3 -v install docker-compose

Configuring Docker to Start on Boot

Enable Docker services to start automatically upon boot:

sudo systemctl enable docker.service
sudo systemctl enable containerd.service

To disable this behavior, replace enable with disable:

sudo systemctl disable docker.service
sudo systemctl disable containerd.service

Pulling and Running Images

Pull the Hello World image to verify your Docker installation:

docker pull hello-world

Run it using:

docker run hello-world
docker exec -it CONTAINER_NAME sh
# Now you can enter commands in the container

Managing Containers and Images

Listing Containers

To list all running containers:

docker ps

Listing Images

List all available images:

docker image ls

List image IDs only:

docker image ls -aq

Building an Image

Build an image from a Dockerfile in the current directory:

docker image build -t IMAGE_NAME:BUILD_NUMBER .

Stopping and Removing Containers

Stop a specific container:

docker stop CONTAINER_ID

Stop all running containers:

docker stop $(docker ps -aq)

Remove a specific container:

docker rm CONTAINER_ID

Remove all containers:

docker rm $(docker ps -aq)

Setting Restart Policies

Define container restart policies:

--restart options:

- no: Do not automatically restart the container (default). 
- on-failure: Restart the container on error (non-zero exit code). 
- always: Always restart unless manually stopped. 
- unless-stopped: Restart unless user stopped.

Basic Docker Commands

Here's a list of common Docker commands and their descriptions:

Command  Description

- docker attach: Attach to a running container.
- docker build: Build an image from a Dockerfile.
- docker commit: Create a new image from a container’s changes.
- docker exec: Run a command in a running container.
- docker ps: List containers.
- docker pull: Pull an image or a repository from a registry.
- docker push: Push an image or a repository to a registry.
- docker rm: Remove one or more containers.
- docker run: Run a command in a new container.
- docker stop: Stop one or more running containers.

Managing Docker with Portainer

Creating a Volume

Create a volume for Portainer data:

docker volume create portainer_data

Starting Portainer

Run Portainer with a persistent data volume:

docker run -d -p 8000:8000 -p 9000:9000 \
  --name=portainer --restart=always \
  -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
  -v /dkr/portainer_data:/data portainer/portainer-ce:latest

Working with Ubuntu Docker Image

Pull the Ubuntu Docker image:

docker pull ubuntu

Run it interactively:

docker run -it ubuntu

Managing Docker Volumes

List all volumes:

docker ps -a

Remove unused volumes:

docker rm -f <volume_name>

Sample Docker Projects

Installing Homer Dashboard

Run Homer Dashboard:

docker run --name=homer -d \
  -p 8001:8080 \
  -v /dkr/homer:/www/assets \
  --restart=always \
  b4bz/homer:latest

Installing VSCode CodeServer

version: "2.1"
services:
  code-server:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/code-server
    container_name: code-server
    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
      - TZ=Asia/Dhaka
      - PASSWORD=password #optional
      - HASHED_PASSWORD= #optional
      - SUDO_PASSWORD=password #optional
      - SUDO_PASSWORD_HASH= #optional
      - PROXY_DOMAIN=code.ohidur.com
      - DEFAULT_WORKSPACE=/config/workspace #optional
    volumes:
      - /path/to/appdata/config:/config
    ports:
      - 8443:8443
    restart: unless-stopped

Running Heimdall

docker run --name=heimdall -d --restart=always \
  -v /dkr/heimdall:/config -e PGID=1000 -e PUID=1000 \
  -p 8004:80 -p 8005:443 linuxserver/heimdall

Installing Webtop

version: "2.1"
services:
  webtop:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/webtop:ubuntu-mate
    container_name: webtop
    privileged: true #optional
    security_opt:
      - seccomp:unconfined #optional
    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
      - TZ=Asia/Dock
    volumes:
      - /dkr/webtop:/config
    ports:
      - 5001:3000
    shm_size: "2gb" #optional
    restart: unless-stopped

With this guide, you have the essential knowledge to effectively run and manage Docker on a Raspberry Pi. Happy Dockerizing!