How to Install `docker` in Python

v7.1.0 CLI & Utilities Python >=3.8

A Python library for the Docker Engine API.

Install pip install docker

What is docker?

A Python library for the Docker Engine API.

A Python library for the Docker Engine API. It lets you do anything the command does, but from within Python apps – run containers, manage containers, manage Swarms, etc.

The latest stable version is available on PyPI. Install with pip:

> Older versions ( This is no longer necessary and is a no-op, but is supported for backwards compatibility.

PyPI page →

Quick Start

Minimal example to get started with docker:

import docker

print(docker.__version__)

Installation

pip (standard)

pip install docker

Virtual environment (recommended)

python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate   # Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
pip install docker

pip3

pip3 install docker

conda

conda install -c conda-forge docker

Poetry

poetry add docker

Dependencies

Installing docker will also install these packages:

pywin32 requests urllib3

Verify the Installation

After installing, confirm the package is available:

python -c "import docker; print(docker.__version__)"

If this prints a version number, installation succeeded. If you see a ModuleNotFoundError, see the errors section below.

Installation Errors

Common errors when installing docker with pip.

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'docker'

Cause: The package is not installed in the current Python environment.

Fix: Run pip install docker. If using a virtual environment, ensure it is activated first.

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'docker' (installed but still failing)

Cause: pip installed the package into a different Python than the one running your script.

Fix: Use python -m pip install docker to install into the interpreter you are running.

ImportError: cannot import name 'X' from 'docker'

Cause: The function or class does not exist in the installed version.

Fix: Check the version with pip show docker and upgrade with pip install --upgrade docker.

pip: command not found

Cause: pip is not in PATH or Python was not added to PATH during installation.

Fix: Try python -m pip install docker. On macOS/Linux try pip3.

PermissionError: [Errno 13] Permission denied

Cause: No write access to the system Python package directory.

Fix: Use a virtual environment, or add --user: pip install --user docker

SSL: CERTIFICATE_VERIFY_FAILED

Cause: pip cannot verify PyPI's SSL certificate — common behind corporate proxies.

Fix: Try: pip install --trusted-host pypi.org --trusted-host files.pythonhosted.org docker

Recent Releases

Version	Released
`7.1.0` latest	2024-05-23
`7.0.0`	2023-12-08
`7.0.0b3`	2023-12-05
`7.0.0b2`	2023-11-27
`6.1.3`	2023-06-01

Full release history on PyPI →

Manage docker

Upgrade to latest version

pip install --upgrade docker

Install a specific version

pip install docker==7.1.0

Uninstall

pip uninstall docker

Check what is installed

pip show docker

Last updated: 2026-04-11 • Data from PyPI

How to Install docker in Python