Install MySQL and phpMyAdmin using Docker in Ubuntu

In this post, we’ll walk through how to install MySQL and phpMyAdmin using Docker on Ubuntu.
This guide follows the YouTube tutorial: How to install MySQL and phpMyAdmin with Docker on Ubuntu

✅ Install Docker

First, ensure Docker is properly installed. If it isn’t, follow these steps:

1. Set Up Docker’s apt Repository

# Update and install prerequisites
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ca-certificates curl

# Add Docker’s official GPG key
sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings
sudo curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc
sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc

# Add Docker repository to apt sources
echo \
  "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu \
  $(. /etc/os-release && echo "${UBUNTU_CODENAME:-$VERSION_CODENAME}") stable" | \
  sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null

sudo apt-get update

2. Install Docker Engine & Compose

sudo apt-get install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

3. Verify the Installation

# Check Docker version
docker --version
# -> Docker version 28.3.2, build 578ccf6

# Check Docker Compose version
sudo docker compose version
# -> Docker Compose version v2.38.2

🛠️ Create Docker Compose File

Create a docker-compose.yml file with the following content:

services:
  phpmyadmin:
    image: phpmyadmin:latest
    container_name: phpmyadmin
    ports:
      - 8080:80
    environment:
      - PMA_ARBITRARY=0
      - PMA_HOST=db
    restart: unless-stopped
    depends_on:
      - db

  db:
    image: mysql:latest
    container_name: mysql
    ports:
      - 3306:3306
    environment:
      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: mypassword
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - dbdata:/var/lib/mysql

volumes:
  dbdata:

🚀 Run Docker Compose

Now launch the services in the background:

sudo docker compose up -d

Expected output:

[+] Running 4/4
 ✔ Network phpmyadmin_default Created
 ✔ Volume "phpmyadmin_dbdata" Created
 ✔ Container mysql Started
 ✔ Container phpmyadmin Started

🌐 Access phpMyAdmin

Open your browser and visit:

http://localhost:8080/

Login credentials:

• Username: root
• Password: mypassword

You should see the phpMyAdmin login page:

After login, you can run SQL queries through the main interface:

Now you’re ready to manage your MySQL database using a simple web UI.