5

Phase 5 · Run over SSH

Docker Initialisation

Enable Docker, add your user, and create the shared container network.

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Step 1 — Enable Docker and Add Your User

Start the Docker service and add your user to the docker group. Being in the docker group lets you run docker commands without typing sudo every time.

sudo systemctl enable --now docker

# Create the docker group if it doesn't exist yet, then add your user
grep -q "^docker:" /etc/group || sudo sh -c "getent group docker >> /etc/group"
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

Group membership takes effect on next login

The docker group change doesn't apply to your current SSH session. You'll need to log out and reconnect: exit, then ssh -p 22022 username@your-server-ip. After reconnecting, docker ps should work without sudo.

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Step 2 — Limit Docker Log Sizes

By default, Docker container logs can grow without limit and eventually fill your OS drive. This adds a safety cap — 10 MB per log file, maximum 3 rotating files per container.

sudo tee /etc/docker/daemon.json > /dev/null << 'EOF'
{
  "log-driver": "json-file",
  "log-opts": {
    "max-size": "10m",
    "max-file": "3"
  }
}
EOF

sudo systemctl restart docker

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Step 3 — Create the Shared Docker Network

Docker containers on different docker-compose.yml files can only communicate with each other if they share a network. We create one shared network (nextcloud-aio) that all relevant services will join.

docker network create nextcloud-aio

Verify it was created:

docker network ls

You should see nextcloud-aio in the list.

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✅ Phase 5 Complete

Docker is running, your user can manage containers, logs are capped, and the shared network is ready.

Next: Phase 6 — Data Drive →