What is Portainer?

Portainer is a web-based Docker management UI. Instead of running Docker commands in the terminal, you get a visual dashboard showing all your containers, images, volumes, and networks. Start, stop, restart, view logs, open a console — all from your browser. The Community Edition is free and covers everything a home self-hoster needs.

Prerequisites

Docker and Docker Compose installed (Docker Compose basics)
Any server (best mini PCs for self-hosting)

Docker Compose Configuration

# docker-compose.yml for Portainer CE
# Tested with Portainer 2.21+

services:
  portainer:
    container_name: portainer
    image: portainer/portainer-ce:latest
    ports:
      - "9443:9443"   # HTTPS web UI
      - "8000:8000"   # Edge agent (optional)
    volumes:
      - ./data:/data
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
    restart: unless-stopped

Step-by-Step Setup

Create a directory:
Terminal window
```
mkdir ~/portainer && cd ~/portainer
```
Create the docker-compose.yml with the config above.
Start the container:
Terminal window
```
docker compose up -d
```
Access the web UI at https://your-server-ip:9443 (note: HTTPS with a self-signed certificate).
Create your admin account — you have 5 minutes to do this before the instance locks for security.
Select “Get Started” to connect to your local Docker environment.

Configuration Tips

Stacks: Use Portainer’s Stacks feature to deploy and manage Docker Compose files directly from the UI. You can paste compose files or pull them from Git repositories.
App Templates: Browse and deploy popular self-hosted apps from built-in templates with one click.
Container management: View logs, open a console, inspect environment variables, and restart containers without touching the terminal.
Multiple environments: Manage Docker on multiple servers from a single Portainer instance using Edge Agents.
Reverse proxy: Put Portainer behind a reverse proxy to replace the self-signed certificate. See our reverse proxy guide.

Backup & Migration

Backup: The data folder contains Portainer’s configuration database. Back it up to preserve your settings, users, and stack definitions.
Note: Portainer doesn’t store your containers’ data — it only manages them. Each container’s data is wherever you mounted its volumes.

Troubleshooting

“Your Portainer instance timed out”: If you didn’t create the admin account within 5 minutes, restart the container.
Permission denied on Docker socket: Ensure the Docker socket is accessible. On some systems, you may need to adjust socket permissions.
Can’t see containers from other compose projects: Portainer sees all containers on the Docker daemon, regardless of which compose project created them.

Alternatives

Dockge is a lighter alternative focused purely on Docker Compose stack management. Yacht is another option with a simpler interface. See our Portainer vs Dockge comparison or the full Best Docker Management Tools roundup.

Verdict

Portainer is the standard Docker management UI for self-hosting. It makes container management visual and accessible, especially for those less comfortable with the command line. Install it first — it makes managing everything else easier.

How to Self-Host Portainer with Docker Compose