Portainer – Web UI for Docker

Portainer is a web-based management UI for Docker. Instead of managing containers from the terminal, you get a clean dashboard where you can start, stop, inspect, and deploy containers — all from your browser.

What Portainer gives you:

• Visual overview of all containers, images, volumes, and networks
• Deploy new containers and stacks from the UI
• View container logs and stats in real time
• Manage multiple Docker hosts from one place
• Free Community Edition covers everything you need for a home lab

Step 1 – Create the Project Folder

mkdir -p ~/docker/portainer
cd ~/docker/portainer

Step 2 – Create the compose.yml

nano compose.yml

Add the following:

services:
  portainer:
    image: portainer/portainer-ce:latest
    container_name: portainer
    ports:
      - "9000:9000"
      - "9443:9443"
    volumes:
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
      - portainer_data:/data
    restart: unless-stopped

volumes:
  portainer_data:

What the options mean:

• 9000 — HTTP access (unencrypted)
• 9443 — HTTPS access (self-signed certificate)
• /var/run/docker.sock — gives Portainer access to the Docker engine
• portainer_data — named volume that stores Portainer’s configuration

Step 3 – Start Portainer

docker compose up -d

Check that it started:

docker compose logs -f

Press CTRL+C to exit the log view.

Step 4 – Access the Web Interface

Open your browser and go to:

http://your-server-ip:9000

Or via HTTPS:

https://your-server-ip:9443

The first time you visit, Portainer will ask you to create an admin user. Set a strong password and click Create user.

On the next screen, select Docker Standalone and click Connect — Portainer will detect your local Docker environment automatically.

What You Can Do in Portainer

Containers — start, stop, restart, remove, inspect logs and stats for any container

Stacks — deploy Docker Compose stacks directly from the UI — paste your compose.yml and click Deploy

Images — pull new images, remove old ones, inspect image layers

Volumes — view and manage Docker volumes

Networks — inspect and manage Docker networks

Stats — real-time CPU, memory, and network usage per container

Deploy a Stack from the UI

Instead of using the terminal for docker compose up, you can deploy stacks directly in Portainer:

1. Go to Stacks → Add stack
2. Give it a name
3. Paste your compose.yml content
4. Click Deploy the stack

This is great for managing multiple services visually.

Keep Portainer Updated

cd ~/docker/portainer
docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

Useful Commands

Tips

• Bookmark the URL — you’ll visit Portainer often, make it easy to reach
• Use HTTPS on port 9443 for a more secure connection (self-signed cert is fine for home lab use)
• Portainer Agent — if you have multiple Docker hosts, install the Portainer Agent on each one and manage them all from a single Portainer instance
• Combine with Tailscale — access Portainer remotely without exposing port 9000 to the internet

Related Links

• Install Docker and Docker Compose on Linux — install Docker first
• Tailscale – Getting Started — access Portainer remotely without port forwarding
• Portainer Documentation — official docs