How to fix permission denied error when connecting to Docker?

Better Stack Team
Updated on October 5, 2023

If you are encountering a "permission denied" error when trying to connect to Docker, it is likely that you are not running the Docker commands with sufficient privileges. Here are a few steps you can take to fix the issue:

  1. By default, Docker commands can only be run by users with root or sudo privileges. If you want to run Docker commands as a non-root user, you need to add your user to the docker group. To do this, run the following command:

     
    sudo usermod -aG docker your-user
    

    Replace your-user with your actual username. This command will add your user to the docker group, allowing you to run Docker commands without using sudo.

  2. After adding your user to the docker group, you need to log out and log back in for the changes to take effect. Alternatively, you can run the following command to reload the group memberships:

     
    newgrp docker
    

    This command will refresh your user's group memberships without logging out and logging back in.

  3. If you are still encountering permission denied errors, you may need to check if the Docker daemon is running and if your user has permission to access it. You can check the status of the Docker daemon by running the following command:

     
    sudo systemctl status docker
    
  4. If you are still encountering permission denied errors when running Docker commands, you may need to check the file and folder permissions of the files and directories involved. Make sure that the user running the Docker commands has the necessary permissions to access the files and directories. You may need to use the chown or chmod commands to change the ownership or permissions of the files and directories.

Note: Be careful when modifying file and folder permissions, as this can affect the security and stability of your system. Always check the documentation and make sure you understand the implications of changing permissions before making any changes.

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