Installing Docker & Vagrant

Overview

Vagrant needs a virtualization provider to create environments. We'll use Docker as our provider because it's fast, lightweight, and essential for modern DevOps.

The setup order is:

Install Docker (the provider)
Install Vagrant (the orchestrator)
Install the Docker plugin for Vagrant

Installing Docker

Create a script called install-docker.sh:

#!/bin/bash
 
# Update system packages
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y apt-transport-https ca-certificates curl software-properties-common
 
# Add Docker's official GPG key
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo apt-key add -
 
# Add Docker repository
sudo add-apt-repository "deb [arch=amd64] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu $(lsb_release -cs) stable"
 
# Update package list
sudo apt-get update
 
# Install Docker
sudo apt-get install -y docker-ce
 
# Verify installation
docker --version
 
# Start and enable Docker service
sudo systemctl start docker
sudo systemctl enable docker
 
# Add current user to docker group (avoids needing sudo)
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
 
echo "Docker installed successfully! Log out and back in for group changes to take effect."

Make it executable and run:

chmod +x install-docker.sh
./install-docker.sh

After installation, log out and back in, then verify:

docker --version
# Output: Docker version 25.x.x, build xxxxxxx
 
docker run hello-world
# Should pull and run the hello-world container

Installing Vagrant

# Add HashiCorp GPG key and repository
wget -O - https://apt.releases.hashicorp.com/gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/hashicorp-archive-keyring.gpg
 
echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/hashicorp-archive-keyring.gpg] https://apt.releases.hashicorp.com $(lsb_release -cs) main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/hashicorp.list
 
# Install Vagrant
sudo apt update && sudo apt install vagrant

Verify the installation:

vagrant version

Expected output:

Installed Version: 2.x.x

The Vagrant CLI

Vagrant is controlled entirely from the command line. View all available commands:

vagrant --help

Essential Commands

Command	Purpose
`vagrant init`	Create a new Vagrantfile
`vagrant up`	Start and provision the environment
`vagrant ssh`	Connect to a running machine via SSH
`vagrant halt`	Stop the machine
`vagrant destroy`	Delete the machine completely
`vagrant status`	Show current machine state
`vagrant reload`	Restart and reload configuration
`vagrant validate`	Check Vagrantfile for errors
`vagrant global-status`	Show all Vagrant environments

Getting Help on Any Command

vagrant <COMMAND> -h
 
# Examples:
vagrant up -h
vagrant ssh -h
vagrant destroy -h

Installing the Docker Plugin

Vagrant needs a plugin to communicate with Docker:

vagrant plugin install docker

Expected output:

Installing the 'docker' plugin. This can take a few minutes...
Installed the plugin 'docker (0.4.0)'!

Verify installed plugins:

vagrant plugin list

Plugin Management

# Install a plugin
vagrant plugin install <plugin-name>
 
# Remove a plugin
vagrant plugin uninstall <plugin-name>
 
# Update a plugin
vagrant plugin update <plugin-name>
 
# List all plugins
vagrant plugin list

Updating Vagrant

Since we installed from the HashiCorp repository, updates come through apt:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade vagrant

Verifying Everything Works

Let's do a quick sanity check:

# Docker is running
docker ps
 
# Vagrant is installed
vagrant version
 
# Docker plugin is available
vagrant plugin list | grep docker

If all three commands succeed, you're ready to create your first Vagrant environment.

Summary

Docker is installed first as the virtualization provider
Vagrant is installed from HashiCorp's official repository
The Docker plugin connects Vagrant to Docker
The vagrant CLI has subcommands for every lifecycle action
Use vagrant <command> -h for help on any command

Next Steps

With both tools installed, we're ready to create our first Vagrant environment. In the next lesson, we'll write a Vagrantfile and deploy our first container.

Learning Objectives