Self-Hosting Series: Part 2

Requirements

• Software
  • A Linux distro (Guide is based on Debian)
  • Root access (or a user with sudo privileges)
  • A basic understanding of Linux commands
  • Docker
  • Portainer
• Hardware
  • A good ol' computer (laptop or desktop)

Intro

Docker is an essential tool for self-hosting, allowing you to deploy and manage applications in isolated environments (containers).

Portainer is a powerful web-based management tool for Docker, making it easier to deploy and manage containers without complex CLI commands.

In this guide, we’ll walk through installing Docker and Portainer on a Debian system step by step.

Step 1: Install Docker and Docker Compose

The easiest way to install docker is by running the following script. This will install Docker engine and its dependencies:

Note: NEVER run a script without knowing what’s inside. Always examine carefully before run.

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

Optional: If we want to run docker as a regular user and without sudo command, we should add the user to the docker group:

sudo usermod -aG docker <yourusername>

Verify Docker is installed:

docker --version

Next, install Docker Compose:

sudo apt install docker-compose -y

Verify installation:

docker-compose --version

Run the following command to test if Docker is working:

docker run hello-world

If everything is set up correctly, you should see a message confirming that Docker is installed and working.

2: Ensure docker is running

Portainer runs as a Docker container, so let’s make sure Docker is running:

sudo systemctl status docker

3: Create a Docker Volume for Portainer

Portainer stores data in a Docker volume to persist settings and configurations. Create it with:

docker volume create portainer_data

4: Deploy Portainer Container

Run the following command to start Portainer as a containerized service:

docker run -d \
  --name=portainer \
  --restart=always \
  -p 8000:8000 \
  -p 9443:9443 \
  -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
  -v portainer_data:/data \
  portainer/portainer-ce:latest

Explanation of Flags :

-d → Runs the container in detached mode (in the background).
--name=portainer → Names the container portainer.
--restart=always → Ensures Portainer starts automatically on reboot.
-p 8000:8000 → Opens port 8000 for the Portainer agent.
-p 9443:9443 → Opens port 9443 (default Portainer web UI over HTTPS).
-v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock → Allows Portainer to communicate with Docker.
-v portainer_data:/data → Uses the created volume for storing Portainer’s persistent data.

5: Access the Portainer Web UI

Once the container is running, open your browser and navigate to:

https://your-server-ip:9443

You’ll see a security warning because Portainer uses a self-signed SSL certificate by default. Click “Advanced” → “Proceed” to continue.

6: Create an Admin User

On the Portainer setup page , create an admin username and password. Click “Create User”.

Done! Now that docker and Portainer are installed, you can start deploying multiple self-hosted applications with ease!

Next Steps in This Series

✅ Deploying services using Docker Compose and Portainer. (PART 3)

✅ Setting up a cloudflare tunnel.

✅ Connect our server to our private vpn secure access.

✅ Hosting your own media server (Jellyfin/Plex),password manger and many more!

Stay tuned as we turn your server into a powerful self-hosted ecosystem! 🚀