Setup Docker

Overleaf runs on Docker. You must install:

• Docker Engine (Docker CE)

• Docker Compose plugin (docker compose, v2)

These steps target a recent Ubuntu LTS (20.04/22.04/24.04).

Avoid installing docker.io from Ubuntu's default apt repository. Use Docker's official repository so you get a recent Docker version and the docker compose plugin.

1

1) Remove old/conflicting packages (if present)

If Docker was previously installed from another source, remove it first:

sudo apt-get remove -y docker.io docker-doc docker-compose podman-docker containerd runc

This command is safe if some packages are not installed.

2

2) Add Docker’s official apt repository

Install prerequisites:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y ca-certificates curl gnupg

Add the Docker GPG key:

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

Add the repository:

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

sudo apt-get update

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3) Install Docker Engine + Compose plugin

Install Docker and the Compose plugin:

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

Start Docker on boot:

sudo systemctl enable --now docker

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4) Verify the installation

These commands should run without errors:

docker --version
docker compose version
sudo docker run --rm hello-world
docker ps

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5) (Optional) Run Docker without sudo

Add your user to the docker group:

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

Then log out and back in, or run:

newgrp docker

Now this should work without sudo:

docker ps

The docker group has root-equivalent access on the host. This is expected for typical Overleaf installs, and especially relevant if you enable Sandboxed Compiles.

Next step

Once Docker is working, continue with the Toolkit installation steps in Using the Toolkit.