How to Install and Use Docker Compose on Ubuntu 25.10

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Docker Compose is a tool for defining and running multi-container Docker applications using a single YAML configuration file.

Update Your System

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First, make sure your package list is up to date:

apt update -y
apt upgrade -y

Install Docker (if not already installed)

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apt install -y ca-certificates curl gnupg lsb-release
mkdir -p /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker-archive-keyring.gpg
echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker-archive-keyring.gpg] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu $(lsb_release -cs) stable" | tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null
apt update
apt install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

Enable and start Docker:

systemctl enable docker
systemctl start docker

Install Docker Compose (Latest Version)

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Docker Compose can be installed as a plugin (recommended) or manually.

Option 1: Install as Plugin (Preferred)

apt update
apt install -y docker-compose-plugin

Option 2: Install Manually (Latest Release from GitHub)

mkdir -p /usr/local/lib/docker/cli-plugins
curl -SL "https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/download/v2.39.4/docker-compose-$(uname -s)-$(uname -m)" -o /usr/local/lib/docker/cli-plugins/docker-compose
chmod +x /usr/local/lib/docker/cli-plugins/docker-compose

(The latest version as of writing is v2.39.4.) :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}

Verify Docker Compose Installation

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docker compose version

Output might look like:

Docker Compose version v2.40.2

Using Docker Compose

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To start services defined in a docker-compose.yml file:

docker compose up -d

To stop and remove containers, networks, and volumes defined by the file:

docker compose down

That’s it! You’ve successfully installed the latest Docker Compose (v2.40.2) on Ubuntu 25.10.