A post by Jay Pfaffman says You need root privileges and to be able to install docker. I have an Ubuntu VPS hosted by Pair.com , which offers a Docker installation, so I don’t need root privileges to install Docker. However, Pair cautions that Our Docker installations run in a rootless environm…

There is a good chance it won’t work, but if you already have this VPS it may be worth a try.

How did this go? I’m also on a Pair VPS.

@Falco So in 2026: How is the current state of rootless Docker and Discourse? Generally runnable but unsupported - assuming having a proper setup and configuration? Does CDCK internally run any rootless Discourse instances? Are there known blockers? Is official rootless Docker support on any roadm…

Can I run Discourse in "rootless" Docker on VPS?

Support Self-hosting

Falco (Falco) October 14, 2026, 8:31pm 6

This is not something any of us are pursuing explicitly, but you may get away with it by using the @featheredtoast work on pre-bootstrapped images, ie the discourse/discourse container image.

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Can I run Discourse in "rootless" Docker on VPS?

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