Add User to Docker Group

As an efficient containerization tool, Docker is used in applications across numerous sectors. Developers find it a very useful tool, and they don't need to rely on the target system to deploy their program in production or any other environment.

It is a standard procedure to add users to a docker group. You can communicate with the docker daemon without sudo privileges by adding the user to the docker group. Superuser capabilities are usually needed to run Docker commands without adding a user to the Docker group. You can execute the commands without having docker access by adding a user to the docker group.

What is Docker Group?

In Linux, a user group is called a Docker Group. When the Docker daemon is installed on a Linux system, it is linked to the Docker group. In order for a specific user to communicate with the Docker daemon, sudo capabilities are required. Sudo won't be necessary if you add the specific user you wish to run the commands from to the docker group. Instead, you can run the tasks directly in the docker.

How to Add a User to the Docker Group?

Step 1: Create a Docker Group

sudo groupadd docker

Step 2: Add user to the docker group

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

• When you use the usermod command with the -a option, you are attaching or adding the user to a certain group.
• The -G option, which indicates the group the user is currently in, should always be used with this.
• $USER signifies that the non-root user currently logged in will be added.
• You must state the username clearly for a user who is not logged in.

Alternatively, you can also use the gpasswd command to add the user to the group

sudo gpasswd -a $USER docker

Entering the password will add the user to the Docker group after prompting for it.

Step 3. Verify

To confirm that you can run as a non-root user, let's now execute the docker command. The hello-world docker should now be launched.

docker run hello-world

We may now successfully run the hello-world docker since the command execution was successful. To confirm the current user's group membership, you can also use the groups command.

groups

Docker is displayed in the output, indicating that the current user is a member.

What Is The Docker User Home Directory?

The Docker user home directory, often referred to as the home directory of the Docker daemon or Docker service account, depends on the Linux distribution and how Docker is installed. In many cases, the Docker daemon runs as a system service and doesn't have a traditional home directory associated with a specific user account. Instead, Docker daemon processes typically run with system-level privileges.

However, if you are referring to the home directory of a user who interacts with Docker (such as a user added to the "docker" group to run Docker commands without sudo), the home directory would be the home directory of that specific user.

Using the echo command with the HOME environment option, you may find the home directory of the user who is currently logged in.

For example:

echo $HOME

Conclusion

Adding a user to the Docker group speeds the procedure and increases security by enabling them to execute Docker commands without requiring sudo features. The procedures include setting up the Docker group, adding the user using the gpasswd or usermod commands, and running Docker commands to confirm the configuration. Developers may now interface with Docker more easily in a variety of situations due to this method.