I'm trying to enable Docker's rootless mode on an Ubuntu server by following the official documentation. When I run `sudo apt-get install -y docker-ce-rootless-extras`, APT says it can't locate the package. Docker itself is already installed and running, but I'm not sure whether it came from Docker's official repository or Ubuntu's default packages. I've recently run `apt update`, but I don't have the rootless installation script on the system. What should I check or reinstall to get the package available?
4 Answers
In this case, reinstalling Docker using the official installation instructions may be the simplest fix. Set up the official repository, install the regular Docker Engine packages, update the package lists, and then follow the rootless-mode setup steps. That’s what ultimately resolved the missing package here.
Podman is another rootless container option worth considering, especially on systems where it’s already well supported. That said, if your existing workflow is built around Docker and you’ve had trouble getting Podman’s non-root setup working, fixing Docker’s repository configuration is probably the more practical route.
If the Docker repository is already configured, check that its distribution codename matches your Ubuntu version. A mismatched or incomplete repository entry can leave APT with no package information even after an update. You can also confirm that the package lists refreshed successfully before retrying the install.
That package usually isn’t available in Ubuntu’s default repositories. Add Docker’s official APT repository for your exact Ubuntu release, run `sudo apt-get update`, and then try installing `docker-ce-rootless-extras` again. The standard Ubuntu sources generally provide `docker.io`, while packages named `docker-ce` come from Docker’s repository.
That makes sense. I wasn’t sure which repository my existing Docker installation came from, so I’ll verify it before trying the package install again.
I tried using Podman before, but getting it working as a non-root user was more difficult and the documentation didn’t help much. Rootless Docker is a better fit for my setup.