Docker for the Absolute Beginner - Hands-On

Course Overview

Updated in May 2025. This course now features Coursera Coach! A smarter way to learn with interactive, real-time conversations that help you test your knowledge, challenge assumptions, and deepen your understanding as you progress through the course. This comprehensive course is designed for those who are new to Docker and eager to learn from the ground up. You’ll begin with the basics, including how to install and set up Docker on various platforms. Through practical demonstrations, you’ll quickly get up to speed with Docker commands, allowing you to run, manage, and inspect containers with confidence. As you progress, the course delves into more advanced topics like Docker images, Docker Compose, and Docker Registry. You’ll explore the creation of custom Docker images, the role of environment variables, and the distinction between command and entry point. Through interactive demos, you'll build and manage a multi-container application using Docker Compose, cementing your understanding of this powerful tool. The final sections introduce you to Docker’s ecosystem beyond single containers. Learn the essentials of Docker networking, storage, and the Docker Engine, before advancing to container orchestration with Docker Swarm and Kubernetes. By the end of the course, you’ll have a solid foundation in Docker and be prepared to tackle real-world projects with this versatile technology. If you are a system administrator, cloud infrastructure engineer, developer, or anyone new to Docker who is looking to develop a solid foundation in Docker, then this video course is for you. Basic system administrator skills are recommended before getting started with this course.