How to install Docker client on Windows, Mac, and Linux?

What is Docker client?

Docker client is the dedicated command-line tool (docker) that enables us to interact with the Docker engine as well as the entire Docker ecosystem.

Install Docker client

This knowledge base article provides step-by-step instructions for installing the Docker client, which is a command-line tool used to connect to and manage the Docker engine, whether it is local or remote. It is recommended to install the Docker client using a package manager on Windows, Mac, or Linux operating systems for ease of use and consistency. After completing the installation, it is important to verify the Docker client version to ensure that the installation was successful. For further guidance, you can refer to the Docker documentation.

Windows (Chocolatey)

You can use the following commands to install Docker client in the Chocolatey-based Windows operating system.

# Install Docker client.
$ choco install docker-cli

# Check Docker client version.
$ docker --version

Mac (MacPorts)

You can use the following commands to install Docker client in the MacPorts-based Mac operating system.

# Install Docker client.
$ sudo port install docker

# Check Docker client version.
$ docker --version

Linux (RPM)

You can use the following commands to install Docker client in RPM-based Linux operating systems such as CentOS Linux, Red Hat Linux, Fedora Linux, Amazon Linux, Alma Linux, Rocky Linux, etc., or any other similar equivalents.

# Add Docker repository to package manager source list (YUM).
$ sudo yum-config-manager --add-repo https://download.docker.com/linux/centos/docker-ce.repo

# Add Docker repository to package manager source list (DNF).
$ sudo dnf config-manager --add-repo https://download.docker.com/linux/centos/docker-ce.repo

# Install Docker client.
$ sudo yum install docker-ce-cli

# Check Docker client version.
$ docker --version

Linux (Debian)

You can use the following commands to install Docker client in Debian-based Linux operating systems such as Ubuntu Linux, Mint Linux, Kali Linux, Kubuntu Linux, etc., or any other similar equivalents.

# Add Docker official GPG key to package manager.
$ curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo apt-key add -
$ sudo apt-key fingerprint 0EBFCD88

# Add Docker repository to package manager source list.
$ sudo add-apt-repository "deb [arch=amd64] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu $(lsb_release -cs) stable"

# Install Docker client.
$ sudo apt install docker-ce-cli

# Check Docker client version.
$ docker --version