How to Install Docker Compose on Amazon EC2 Linux: A Step-by-Step Guide

Docker Compose is an essential tool for defining and running multi-container Docker applications. This guide will walk you through installing Docker Compose on your Amazon EC2 Linux instance.

Prerequisites

• An running Amazon EC2 instance with Amazon Linux 2
• Docker already installed and running (see previous guide)
• SSH access to your EC2 instance
• Sudo privileges on the instance

Installation Steps

1. Download Docker Compose

First, create a directory for the Docker Compose binary and download it:

# Create directory for docker-compose
mkdir -p ~/.docker/cli-plugins/

# Download the latest version of Docker Compose
curl -SL https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/latest/download/docker-compose-linux-x86_64 -o ~/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-compose

2. Set Execute Permissions

Make the binary executable:

chmod +x ~/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-compose

3. Verify the Installation

Check if Docker Compose is installed correctly:

docker compose version

4. Create a Test Configuration

Let’s create a simple test to ensure Docker Compose works properly:

# Create a test directory
mkdir ~/compose-test
cd ~/compose-test

# Create a docker-compose.yml file
cat << EOF > docker-compose.yml
version: '3'
services:
  web:
    image: nginx:latest
    ports:
      - "80:80"
EOF

5. Test the Installation

Run your test configuration: It will download the docker image if it does not exist in your EC2 instance then it will run the container.

docker compose up -d

To stop the test container:

docker compose down

Common Issues and Solutions

1. Permission Denied: If you get permission errors, check that:
   • The binary is executable
   • Your user has proper Docker permissions
2. Command Not Found: Ensure that:
   • The binary is in the correct location
   • Your PATH includes the binary location

Using Docker Compose

Here’s a quick reference for common Docker Compose commands:

# Start services
docker compose up -d

# Stop services
docker compose down

# View running containers
docker compose ps

# View logs
docker compose logs

# Scale services
docker compose up -d --scale service=3

Next Steps

Now that Docker Compose is installed, you can:

• Create complex multi-container applications
• Define your infrastructure as code
• Manage application lifecycle
• Set up development environments

Conclusion

You now have Docker Compose installed on your Amazon EC2 Linux instance. This tool will help you manage multi-container applications efficiently. Remember to check the official Docker Compose documentation for more advanced usage and best practices.

Happy containerizing!