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How to Fix 'Permission Denied' on /var/run/docker.sock Without Sudo

Read Time: 3 min Updated: 2026-07-26

Quick Diagnostics

The error permission denied while trying to connect to the Docker daemon socket at unix:///var/run/docker.sock occurs when you attempt to run Docker commands without sudo and your current Linux user account does not belong to the group authorized to access the Docker UNIX socket.

🔍 Quick Diagnostics

Symptom Root Cause Solution
Permission Denied when connecting to socket (unix:///var/run/docker.sock) Current Linux user is not a member of the docker system group Add user to docker group with usermod and refresh session

🚀 How to Fix the Error Step-by-Step

Step 1: Create the Docker Group and Add Your User

Check if the docker group exists on your system and add your current user using usermod:

BASH 
# Create docker group if it doesn't already exist
sudo groupadd docker

# Add your active user ($USER) to the docker group
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

Step 2: Apply Group Membership Changes to Current Session

For group changes to take effect immediately without rebooting or logging out entirely, execute:

BASH 
newgrp docker

Alternatively, if connected via SSH or a desktop terminal, log out of your session and log back in.

Step 3: Verify /var/run/docker.sock Ownership and Test

Ensure that /var/run/docker.sock is owned by the docker group:

BASH 
ls -l /var/run/docker.sock

(Output should indicate ownership such as root:docker with srw-rw---- permissions).

Test running a Docker container without sudo:

BASH 
docker run hello-world

Prevention Advice

Recommended security practices:

  • Avoid using chmod 777 on the socket file: Never grant world-writable permissions to /var/run/docker.sock, as doing so gives unprivileged users full root access to the host system.
  • Consider Rootless Docker: In high-security environments, evaluate setting up Rootless Docker mode to run the daemon and containers inside a non-root user namespace.
  • Configure CI/CD Runner Permissions: Ensure automated build runners (such as GitHub Actions self-hosted runners or GitLab Runners) are assigned to the docker group on the host.