Installing SonarQube from the Docker image

Explains how to install the SonarQube server from the Docker image.

SonarQube docker images support running both on the amd64 architecture and on arm64-based Apple Silicon.

We recommend using Docker Engine version 20.10 and above.

First, check the Server host and perform the On Linux systems. Then follow these steps for your first installation:

Create volumes to persist data

Creating the following volumes helps prevent the loss of information when updating to a new version or upgrading to a higher edition:

• • sonarqube_data: contains data files, such as Elasticsearch indexes

  • sonarqube_logs: contains SonarQube logs about access, web process, CE process, and Elasticsearch

  • sonarqube_extensions: will contain any plugins you install and the Oracle JDBC driver if necessary.

Create the volumes with the following commands:

$> docker volume create --name sonarqube_data
$> docker volume create --name sonarqube_logs
$> docker volume create --name sonarqube_extensions

Make sure you’re using volumes as shown with the above commands, and not bind mounts. Using bind mounts prevents plugins from populating correctly.

Add the JDBC driver (if using an Oracle database)

Drivers for supported databases (except Oracle) are already provided. If you’re using an Oracle database, you need to add the JDBC driver to the sonar_extensions volume. To do this:

a. Start the SonarQube container with the embedded H2 database:

$ docker run --rm \
    -p 9000:9000 \
    -v sonarqube_extensions:/opt/sonarqube/extensions \
    <image_name>

where <image_name> is:

• for the Community Edition: sonarqube

• for the other editions: check the tags currently available on the DockerHub page.

b. Exit once SonarQube has started properly.

c. Copy the Oracle JDBC driver into sonarqube_extensions/jdbc-driver/oracle.

Start the SonarQube container

Start the SonarQube container:

• either from the command line (docker run) or

• from a configuration file (docker compose).

For docker-based setups, environment variables supersede all parameters that were provided with properties. See Environment variables for more details.

There is more information about installing and updating SonarQube plugins inside your Docker volume found on the Install a plugin page.

Starting the container by using docker run

Run the image with your database properties defined using the -e environment variable flag:

$> docker run -d --name sonarqube \
    -p 9000:9000 \
    -e SONAR_JDBC_URL=... \
    -e SONAR_JDBC_USERNAME=... \
    -e SONAR_JDBC_PASSWORD=... \
    -v sonarqube_data:/opt/sonarqube/data \
    -v sonarqube_extensions:/opt/sonarqube/extensions \
    -v sonarqube_logs:/opt/sonarqube/logs \
    <image_name>

where <image_name> is:

• for the Community Edition: sonarqube

• for the other editions: check the tags currently available on the DockerHub page.

Starting the container by using Docker compose

Unless you intend to delete the database and start new when running your image ,be careful not to use -v to docker-compose down and, be careful when running commands like docker system prune or docker volume prune; regardless if you use an external: true parameter, your database volumes will not persist beyond the initial startup and shutdown of SonarQube.

If you’re using Docker Compose, use this yml file example as a reference when configuring your .yml file. In the image tag, use the tag value corresponding to the SonarQube version you want to use, e.g, to use the LTA version of the Developer Edition:

image:  sonarqube:2025-lta-developer

Check the SonarQube image tags currently available on the DockerHub page.