Installing Docker on Ubuntu

Overview

Docker is the simplest way to run a Satisfactory dedicated server. The wolveix/satisfactory-server image handles the SteamCMD download, server startup, and auto-updates automatically. This guide installs Docker CE and the Compose plugin on Ubuntu 22.04 or 24.04 LTS.

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Prerequisites

• Ubuntu 22.04 LTS or 24.04 LTS (x86_64/amd64)
• SSH access to your server as a user with sudo privileges
• Internet access from the server

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Step 1: Update the Package Index

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade -y

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Step 2: Install Required Dependencies

sudo apt-get install -y \
  ca-certificates \
  curl \
  gnupg \
  lsb-release

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Step 3: Add Docker’s Official GPG Key

sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings
sudo curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg \
  -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc
sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc

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Step 4: Add Docker’s Repository

echo \
  "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc] \
  https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu \
  $(. /etc/os-release && echo "${UBUNTU_CODENAME:-$VERSION_CODENAME}") stable" | \
  sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null

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Step 5: Install Docker CE and Compose Plugin

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

This installs:

• Docker CE — the container engine
• Docker Compose plugin — docker compose (v2, not the old docker-compose)

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Step 6: Enable and Start Docker

sudo systemctl enable docker
sudo systemctl start docker

Verify Docker is running:

sudo systemctl status docker

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Step 7: Add Your User to the Docker Group

Running Docker commands without sudo requires adding your user to the docker group:

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

You need to log out and back in (or start a new SSH session) for the group change to take effect.

Verify without sudo after re-logging:

docker run hello-world

Expected output includes: Hello from Docker!

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Step 8: (Optional) Configure Log Rotation

Docker containers can generate large log files. Configure log rotation to prevent disk exhaustion:

sudo tee /etc/docker/daemon.json <<'EOF'
{
  "log-driver": "json-file",
  "log-opts": {
    "max-size": "10m",
    "max-file": "3"
  }
}
EOF
sudo systemctl restart docker

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Verify Installation

docker --version
docker compose version

Example output:

Docker version 27.x.x, build xxxxxxx
Docker Compose version v2.x.x

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Troubleshooting

docker: Got permission denied — you haven’t logged out and back in after adding yourself to the docker group. Start a new SSH session.

Package 'docker-ce' has no installation candidate — the repository wasn’t added correctly. Re-run Steps 3–5.

Cannot connect to the Docker daemon — Docker isn’t running. Run:

sudo systemctl start docker

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Next Step

Running Satisfactory Server with Docker →