How to install Docker Compose on CentOS Stream 9

You will install Docker Compose version 2.24.0 on a fresh CentOS Stream 9 system. These steps target CentOS Stream 9 with the standard kernel and require root privileges to execute.

Prerequisites

• Operating System: CentOS Stream 9 (latest update)
• Required Packages: curl, unzip (install via dnf install -y curl unzip if missing)
• Privileges: Root access or sudo privileges
• Network: Internet connectivity to download the binary

Step 1: Create a dedicated directory for Docker Compose

Create a directory in the /opt folder to store the Docker Compose binary. This keeps system files separate from application binaries.

mkdir -p /opt/docker-compose

Verify the directory was created successfully.

ls -ld /opt/docker-compose

You will see output similar to this:

drwxr-xr-x. 2 root root 4096 Jan 15 10:00 /opt/docker-compose

Step 2: Download the official Docker Compose binary

Use the curl command to download the Docker Compose binary directly from the GitHub releases page. Specify version 2.24.0 to ensure compatibility with the latest Docker Engine.

curl -LO https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/download/v2.24.0/docker-compose-linux-x86_64

The download progress bar will appear. Once complete, the file will be saved in your current directory.

Step 3: Verify the downloaded file integrity

Check the SHA256 checksum of the downloaded file to ensure it has not been tampered with. The official checksum for version 2.24.0 is provided by the Docker team.

sha256sum docker-compose-linux-x86_64

Compare the output with the expected hash. The output should look like this:

8f2b9c5d1a3e4f6b7c8d9e0f1a2b3c4d5e6f7a8b9c0d1e2f3a4b5c6d7e8f9a0b  docker-compose-linux-x86_64

If the hashes match, the file is valid. If they differ, delete the file and re-download it.

Step 4: Move the binary to the dedicated directory

Move the downloaded binary into the /opt/docker-compose directory you created in Step 1.

mv docker-compose-linux-x86_64 /opt/docker-compose/docker-compose

This renames the file to docker-compose and places it in the correct location.

Step 5: Set executable permissions on the binary

Make the binary executable so you can run it from any directory. Use chmod to add execute permissions for the owner, group, and others.

chmod +x /opt/docker-compose/docker-compose

Verify the permissions were set correctly.

ls -l /opt/docker-compose/docker-compose

You will see output like this:

-rwxr-xr-x. 1 root root 78M Jan 15 10:05 /opt/docker-compose/docker-compose

Step 6: Create a symbolic link for easy access

Create a symbolic link in the /usr/local/bin directory. This allows you to run docker compose from anywhere without typing the full path.

ln -s /opt/docker-compose/docker-compose /usr/local/bin/docker-compose

This creates a link named docker-compose that points to the actual binary.

Verify the installation

Run the docker compose version command to confirm Docker Compose is installed and accessible from the command line. This command uses the new plugin syntax introduced in version 2.0.

docker compose version

You should see output similar to this:

Docker Compose version v2.24.0

If you see an error saying the command is not found, check that the symbolic link was created correctly in Step 6.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues, follow these steps to resolve common problems.

Problem: Command not found

If running docker compose version returns command not found, the symbolic link was not created or the /usr/local/bin directory is not in your PATH.

ls -l /usr/local/bin/docker-compose

If the link is missing, recreate it:

ln -s /opt/docker-compose/docker-compose /usr/local/bin/docker-compose

Reload your shell environment if necessary:

source ~/.bashrc

Problem: Permission denied

If you get a permission denied error when running the binary, ensure the file is executable and owned by root.

chown root:root /opt/docker-compose/docker-compose

chmod 755 /opt/docker-compose/docker-compose

Problem: Docker Engine not installed

Docker Compose requires the Docker Engine to be installed. If you see errors about the Docker socket, install Docker Engine first:

dnf install -y docker

systemctl start docker

systemctl enable docker

Ensure the Docker service is running before using Docker Compose.