Installing Znuny on Debian with Docker

This guide installs Docker and Docker Compose on Debian so you can run Znuny using the Docker Compose installation.

Supported Debian versions

• Debian 11 (Bullseye)
• Debian 12 (Bookworm)

Older versions (Debian 10) generally work if a current Docker version can be installed.

System requirements

Component	Minimum	Recommended
CPU	2 cores	4+ cores
RAM	4 GB	8 GB or more
Disk	20 GB free	40 GB+ (SSD)
Docker	20.10	latest
Docker Compose	v2	latest
Git	2.17	latest

Step 1: Install Docker, Docker Compose, and Git

Update package sources and install:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y docker.io docker-compose-v2 git

[!NOTE] On older Debian versions without the docker-compose-v2 package, install the official Docker repository or use the legacy docker-compose package.

Enable and start Docker:

sudo systemctl enable --now docker

Optional — run Docker without sudo (log out and back in afterwards):

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

Verify:

docker --version
docker compose version

Step 2: Install Znuny

Continue with the full stack setup:

Installing Znuny with Docker Compose

That guide clones a community compose project, configures MariaDB, runs the web installer at /znuny/installer.pl, and covers volumes, updates, and troubleshooting.

Traditional installation (without Docker)

For production on bare metal, follow the official Znuny installation guide for Apache, MariaDB, and Perl modules on Debian.

Frequently asked questions

Which Debian versions are supported for Znuny with Docker?

Debian 11 (Bullseye) and Debian 12 (Bookworm) are supported. Older releases such as Debian 10 often work if a current Docker version can be installed.

How do I install Docker Compose on Debian for Znuny?

Use apt to install docker.io, docker-compose-v2, and git, then enable the Docker service. Continue with the Docker Compose guide to deploy the Znuny community stack.