How to Install Portainer on Ubuntu 24.04

This guide explains how to manually install Portainer CE on an Ubuntu 24.04 LTS server.

Portainer is a web-based interface that allows you to manage Docker containers, images, volumes, networks, and other Docker resources from a browser.

Beginner note: This guide performs manually the same main installation steps used by the Portainer Ansible playbook.

Requirements

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS or newer
Root access or a user with sudo privileges
Docker installed and working
Internet access from the server
Port 9443 available for Portainer

Step 1 - Connect to Your Ubuntu Server

Connect to your VPS using SSH.

ssh username@YOUR_SERVER_IP

Replace username with your Ubuntu username and YOUR_SERVER_IP with the IP address of your server.

For example:

ssh ubuntu@203.0.113.10

Step 2 - Check Your Ubuntu Version

The Portainer playbook requires Ubuntu 24.04 or newer.

lsb_release -a

You should see something similar to:

Description:    Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS
Codename:       noble

You can also use:

cat /etc/os-release

Important: Do not continue if your server is running an unsupported Ubuntu version.

Step 3 - Update the Package List

Before installing anything, update Ubuntu's package information.

sudo apt update

This downloads the latest information about available packages from the configured Ubuntu repositories.

Step 4 - Install Portainer Prerequisites

The Portainer playbook installs ca-certificates and curl.

sudo apt install -y ca-certificates curl

These packages provide tools required for secure HTTPS communication and downloading resources.

Step 5 - Check Whether Docker Is Installed

Portainer runs as a Docker container, so Docker must already be installed.

docker --version

You should receive output similar to:

Docker version 29.x.x

Also check Docker Compose:

docker compose version

You should receive output similar to:

Docker Compose version v5.x.x

If Docker is not installed: stop here and install Docker first. The Portainer playbook intentionally does not install Docker automatically; it checks that Docker already exists.

Step 6 - Make Sure Docker Is Running

Start Docker and configure it to start automatically when the server boots.

sudo systemctl enable --now docker

Check its status:

sudo systemctl status docker

Look for:

Active: active (running)

Press Q to exit the status screen.

Step 7 - Create the Portainer Installation Directory

The Ansible playbook creates /opt/portainer.

sudo mkdir -p /opt/portainer

Set the directory ownership and permissions:

sudo chown root:root /opt/portainer
sudo chmod 755 /opt/portainer

This directory is used as the Portainer installation location.

Step 8 - Create the Portainer Docker Volume

Portainer needs persistent storage so that its configuration and data are not lost if the container is recreated.

Create a Docker volume called portainer_data:

sudo docker volume create portainer_data

Verify that it exists:

sudo docker volume inspect portainer_data

You should receive information about the Docker volume.

Why use a volume? The Portainer container can be removed and recreated while the Portainer configuration remains stored in the persistent portainer_data volume.

Step 9 - Download the Portainer CE Docker Image

Download the latest Portainer Community Edition image.

sudo docker pull portainer/portainer-ce:latest

Verify that the image exists:

sudo docker images | grep portainer

You should see an entry similar to:

portainer/portainer-ce    latest

Step 10 - Create the Portainer Container

Now create the Portainer container.

Run the following command:

sudo docker run -d \
  --name portainer \
  --restart=always \
  -p 9443:9443 \
  -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
  -v portainer_data:/data \
  portainer/portainer-ce:latest

What does this command do?

-d runs Portainer in the background.
--name portainer gives the container the name portainer.
--restart=always automatically starts Portainer after a reboot or Docker restart.
-p 9443:9443 exposes Portainer's HTTPS interface on port 9443.
/var/run/docker.sock allows Portainer to communicate with the Docker engine.
portainer_data:/data stores Portainer's persistent data.
portainer/portainer-ce:latest specifies the Portainer Community Edition image.

Step 11 - Check That Portainer Is Running

Run:

sudo docker ps --filter name=portainer

You should see something similar to:

CONTAINER ID   IMAGE                           STATUS
xxxxxxxxxxxx   portainer/portainer-ce:latest   Up ...

The important part is that the status says Up.

Step 12 - Check the Portainer Logs

If you want to make sure Portainer started correctly, check its logs.

sudo docker logs --tail 50 portainer

You can also follow the logs in real time:

sudo docker logs -f portainer

Press Ctrl+C to stop following the logs.

Step 13 - Test Portainer Locally

Test whether Portainer is responding on HTTPS.

curl -k -I https://127.0.0.1:9443

A working installation should return:

HTTP/1.1 200 OK

This confirms that Portainer's HTTPS web server is responding.

Step 14 - Open Port 9443 in the Firewall

If UFW is enabled on your server, allow HTTPS traffic to Portainer.

sudo ufw allow 9443/tcp

Check the firewall:

sudo ufw status

You should see an entry similar to:

9443/tcp    ALLOW

Cloud firewall note: If your VPS provider has a separate firewall/security-group system, you may also need to allow TCP port 9443 there.

Step 15 - Find Your Server IP Address

Run:

hostname -I

Alternatively:

ip addr

Find the public IP address assigned to your VPS.

Step 16 - Open Portainer in Your Browser

Open the following address in your web browser:

https://YOUR_SERVER_IP:9443/

For example:

https://203.0.113.10:9443/

Because Portainer uses HTTPS with its own certificate by default, your browser may display a certificate warning if you are accessing it directly by IP address.

If this is your own server, verify that you are connecting to the correct IP address and continue to the Portainer page.

Step 17 - Create the Portainer Administrator Account

When Portainer is opened for the first time, you will be asked to create the initial administrator account.

Enter an administrator username.
Enter a strong password.
Confirm the password.
Continue into the Portainer interface.

Security: Use a strong, unique administrator password. Do not share your Portainer administrator credentials.

Step 18 - Verify the Portainer Container

After completing the setup, run:

sudo docker ps --filter name=portainer

You should see Portainer running and port 9443 mapped.

You can also inspect the container:

sudo docker inspect portainer

Useful Portainer Commands

Check Portainer Status

sudo docker ps --filter name=portainer

Stop Portainer

sudo docker stop portainer

Start Portainer

sudo docker start portainer

Restart Portainer

sudo docker restart portainer

View Portainer Logs

sudo docker logs portainer

View the Last 100 Log Lines

sudo docker logs --tail 100 portainer

Check the Portainer Volume

sudo docker volume inspect portainer_data

Updating Portainer

To update Portainer, first download the latest image:

sudo docker pull portainer/portainer-ce:latest

Stop and remove the existing container:

sudo docker stop portainer
sudo docker rm portainer

Then recreate the container using the same persistent volume:

sudo docker run -d \
  --name portainer \
  --restart=always \
  -p 9443:9443 \
  -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
  -v portainer_data:/data \
  portainer/portainer-ce:latest

Your Portainer configuration remains in the portainer_data volume.

Complete Installation Command Summary

For experienced users, the main manual installation commands are:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install -y ca-certificates curl

docker --version

sudo systemctl enable --now docker

sudo mkdir -p /opt/portainer
sudo chown root:root /opt/portainer
sudo chmod 755 /opt/portainer

sudo docker volume create portainer_data

sudo docker pull portainer/portainer-ce:latest

sudo docker run -d \
  --name portainer \
  --restart=always \
  -p 9443:9443 \
  -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
  -v portainer_data:/data \
  portainer/portainer-ce:latest

sudo docker ps --filter name=portainer

curl -k -I https://127.0.0.1:9443

Installation Verification Checklist

Ubuntu 24.04 or newer is installed.
Docker is installed.
Docker is running.
The portainer_data volume exists.
The Portainer CE image exists.
The Portainer container is running.
Port 9443 is accessible.
curl -k -I https://127.0.0.1:9443 returns HTTP/1.1 200 OK.
You can open https://YOUR_SERVER_IP:9443/ in your browser.
The Portainer administrator account has been created.

Troubleshooting

Portainer Container Is Not Running

Check the container:

sudo docker ps -a --filter name=portainer

Then check the logs:

sudo docker logs --tail 100 portainer

Port 9443 Is Not Accessible

Check whether Portainer is listening:

sudo ss -lntp | grep 9443

Check UFW:

sudo ufw status

If necessary:

sudo ufw allow 9443/tcp

Docker Is Not Running

sudo systemctl status docker

Start Docker:

sudo systemctl start docker

Check Portainer Logs for Errors

sudo docker logs portainer

Conclusion

Portainer CE is now installed as a Docker container on your Ubuntu 24.04 server.

The Portainer web interface is available at:

https://YOUR_SERVER_IP:9443/

The Portainer data is stored persistently in the Docker volume:

portainer_data

This means the Portainer configuration can survive container removal and recreation as long as the persistent volume is retained.

Knowledgebase

Iimhlobo