Enabling Docker Remote Access, Configuring IDEA Docker Plugin, and Deploying a Spring Boot Eureka Server with Maven

Hi, I am a senior architect. This guide shows how to enable Docker remote access, configure the IntelliJ IDEA Docker plugin, and deploy a Spring Boot Eureka server using Maven.

1. Enable Docker Remote Access

Linux : Edit /usr/lib/systemd/system/docker.service and add the listening address -H tcp://0.0.0.0:2375 to the ExecStart line, then reload and restart Docker:

systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl start docker

If a firewall is enabled, add a rule to allow traffic on port 2375 or disable the firewall.

Windows : Right‑click the Docker icon → Settings → General and check “Expose daemon on tcp://localhost:2375 without TLS”. No restart is required.

2. Install and Configure IDEA Docker Plugin

In File → Settings → Plugins search for “Docker”, install it, and restart IDEA.

Then go to File → Settings → Build, Execution, Deployment → Docker , click “+” to add a new Docker instance, and set the Engine API URL to the host IP and port (e.g., http://127.0.0.1:2375 ). Click “Test Connection” – a successful message confirms the setup.

3. Create a Spring Boot Eureka Project

Create a new project via File → New → Project → Spring Initializr and choose a simple Eureka server.

3.1 Add docker‑maven‑plugin to pom.xml

<!-- Use docker-maven-plugin -->
<plugin>
  <groupId>com.spotify</groupId>
  <artifactId>docker-maven-plugin</artifactId>
  <version>1.0.0</version>
  <executions>
    <execution>
      <id>build-image</id>
      <phase>package</phase>
      <goals>
        <goal>build</goal>
      </goals>
    </execution>
  </executions>
  <configuration>
    <imageName>${project.artifactId}</imageName>
    <imageTags>
      <imageTag>latest</imageTag>
    </imageTags>
    <dockerDirectory>${project.basedir}/src/main/resources</dockerDirectory>
    <dockerHost>http://127.0.0.1:2375</dockerHost>
    <resources>
      <resource>
        <targetPath>/</targetPath>
        <directory>${project.build.directory}</directory>
        <include>${project.build.finalName}.jar</include>
      </resource>
    </resources>
  </configuration>
</plugin>

3.2 Dockerfile

FROM java:8
VOLUME /tmp
ADD *.jar app.jar
EXPOSE 9090
ENTRYPOINT ["java","-Djava.security.egd=file:/dev/./urandom","-jar","/app.jar"]

If the java:8 image is not present locally, pull it first with docker pull java:8 .

4. Build Image and Verify

Run mvn package . The plugin builds the Docker image named after the project (e.g., eurekaserver:latest ). You can see the image in the IDEA Docker tool window and in the Docker CLI.

5. Create and Run Container

In the Docker tool window, right‑click the newly built image and select “Create container”. Set the container name and map ports, for example 127.0.0.1:8080:9090 . Click “Run”. The container starts, exposing the Eureka server on host port 8080.

Access the service via http://127.0.0.1:8080 – you should see the Eureka dashboard, confirming a successful deployment.

6. One‑Click Deployment

To rebuild the image automatically on each run, edit the run configuration:

In “Before launch”, add a new “Run Maven Goal” with the goal package .

Save the configuration. Now each time you start the container from IDEA, Maven packages the project, the docker‑maven‑plugin builds a fresh image, and the container is launched.

7. Environment Requirements

JDK 1.8 or higher, Maven 3.2+, Docker installed and reachable via the configured TCP endpoint.

References: cnblogs tutorial , Spring Boot Docker guide .