Download and Setup Keycloak with Docker: A 2026 Guide Keycloak has solidified its position as the premier open-source identity and access management (IAM) solution. In 2026, the transition to and beyond (powered by Quarkus) has made the Docker distribution the industry-standard way to deploy. Whether you're setting up a local development playground or a hardened production instance, using Docker is the fastest route to a secure authentication layer. 1. Quick Start: Pull and Run
Using docker-compose ensures data persistence by connecting Keycloak to a persistent PostgreSQL container, as shown in the example below, which can be launched with docker compose up -d . Docker - Keycloak download keycloak docker
For any serious project, you’ll want to persist data. By default, the single-container run uses an , meaning your users and realms disappear when the container stops. Download and Setup Keycloak with Docker: A 2026
A docker-compose.yml file allows you to pair Keycloak with a production-ready database like . Example docker-compose.yml for 2026 By default, the single-container run uses an ,
docker run -p 8080:8080 \ -e KC_BOOTSTRAP_ADMIN_USERNAME=admin \ -e KC_BOOTSTRAP_ADMIN_PASSWORD=admin \ quay.io/keycloak/keycloak:26.6.1 \ start-dev Use code with caution. : Access the Keycloak Admin Console locally.
To "download" Keycloak in a Docker context, you use the docker pull command. The official images are hosted on . Basic Download Command Open your terminal and run: docker pull quay.io/keycloak/keycloak:latest Use code with caution.
This fetches the most recent stable image from the Official Keycloak Quay Registry. One-Line Run (Development Mode)
