diff --git a/.circleci/config.yml b/.circleci/config.yml
index 41fe25837..7638102fa 100644
--- a/.circleci/config.yml
+++ b/.circleci/config.yml
@@ -6,6 +6,12 @@ jobs:
     parallelism: 4
     steps:
       - checkout
+      - run: |
+          make ci-dependencies
+      - run: |
+          ./tests/ci/setup.sh
+      - run: |
+          echo 'export DOKKU_SKIP_CLEANUP=true' | sudo tee /home/dokku/.dokkurc/dokku_skip_cleanup
       - run: |
           if [[ "$(lsb_release -rs)" == "14.04" ]]; then
             # dokku.me now resolves to 10.0.0.2. add 10.0.0.2/24 to eth0
@@ -14,15 +20,9 @@ jobs:
             # dokku.me now resolves to 10.0.0.2. add 10.0.0.2/24 to ens4
             sudo ip a a 10.0.0.2/24 broadcast 10.0.0.255 dev ens4
           fi
-      - run: |
-          make ci-dependencies
-      - run: |
-          ./tests/ci/setup.sh
-      - run: |
-          echo 'export DOKKU_SKIP_CLEANUP=true' | sudo tee /home/dokku/.dokkurc/dokku_skip_cleanup
       - run: |
           case $CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX in
-            0) sudo -E make -e lint go-tests ci-go-coverage ;;
+            0) sudo -E make -e lint-ci go-tests ci-go-coverage ;;
             1) sudo -E make -e deploy-test-checks-root deploy-test-config ;;
             2) sudo -E make -e deploy-test-multi ;;
             3) sudo -E make -e deploy-test-go-fail-predeploy deploy-test-go-fail-postdeploy ;;
@@ -31,6 +31,11 @@ jobs:
           shell: /bin/bash
           command: sudo -E make -e test-ci
           no_output_timeout: 60m
+      - run: |
+          if [ "${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}" == "0" ]; then
+            ./tests/ci/setup.sh docker
+            DOKKU_SSH_PORT=3022 sudo -E make -e test-ci-docker
+          fi
       - store_artifacts:
           path: ./coverage.out
       - store_artifacts:
diff --git a/.dockerignore b/.dockerignore
index 84200e4bd..977ed7878 100644
--- a/.dockerignore
+++ b/.dockerignore
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ contrib
 build
 docs
 tests
+!build/dokku.deb
 !contrib/dokku-installer.py
 !contrib/dokku-update
 !contrib/bash-completion
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3dc52667a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+FROM phusion/baseimage:0.11
+
+CMD ["/sbin/my_init"]
+
+ARG DOKKU_TAG=0.17.7
+ARG DOKKU_GID=200
+ARG DOKKU_UID=200
+ARG DOKKU_HOSTNAME=dokku.invalid
+ARG DOKKU_SKIP_KEY_FILE=true
+ARG DOKKU_VHOST_ENABLE=false
+ARG DOKKU_WEB_CONFIG=false
+
+COPY ./build/dokku.deb /tmp/dokku.deb
+
+RUN addgroup --gid $DOKKU_GID dokku \
+      && adduser --uid $DOKKU_UID --gid $DOKKU_GID --disabled-password --gecos "" "dokku"
+
+RUN echo "dokku dokku/hostname string $DOKKU_HOSTNAME" | debconf-set-selections \
+      && echo "dokku dokku/skip_key_file boolean $DOKKU_SKIP_KEY_FILE" | debconf-set-selections \
+      && echo "dokku dokku/vhost_enable boolean $DOKKU_VHOST_ENABLE" | debconf-set-selections \
+      && echo "dokku dokku/web_config boolean $DOKKU_WEB_CONFIG" | debconf-set-selections \
+      && curl -sSL https://packagecloud.io/dokku/dokku/gpgkey | apt-key add - \
+      && echo "deb https://packagecloud.io/dokku/dokku/ubuntu/ bionic main" | tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/dokku.list \
+      && apt-get update -qq \
+      && apt-get install --no-install-recommends --only-upgrade -y -qq openssl openssh-server \
+      && apt --no-install-recommends -qq -y install rsync /tmp/dokku.deb \
+      && apt-get purge -y -q syslog-ng-core \
+      && apt-get autoremove -y -q \
+      && apt-get clean && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/* /tmp/* /var/tmp/*
+
+WORKDIR /tmp
+
+COPY ./docker .
+
+RUN \
+    rsync -a /tmp/ / \
+      && rm -rf /tmp/* \
+      && rm /etc/runit/runsvdir/default/sshd/down \
+      && chown -R dokku:dokku /home/dokku/ \
+      && mkdir -p /skel/etc /skel/home /skel/var/lib/dokku /var/log/services \
+      && mv /etc/ssh /skel/etc/ssh \
+      && mv /home/dokku /skel/home/dokku \
+      && mv /var/lib/dokku/config /skel/var/lib/dokku/config \
+      && mv /var/lib/dokku/data /skel/var/lib/dokku/data \
+      && ln -sf /mnt/dokku/etc/ssh /etc/ssh \
+      && ln -sf /mnt/dokku/home/dokku /home/dokku \
+      && ln -sf /mnt/dokku/var/lib/dokku/config /var/lib/dokku/config \
+      && ln -sf /mnt/dokku/var/lib/dokku/data /var/lib/dokku/data \
+      && mv /etc/my_init.d/00_regen_ssh_host_keys.sh /etc/my_init.d/15_regen_ssh_host_keys \
+      && rm /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default /usr/share/nginx/html/index.html /etc/my_init.d/10_syslog-ng.init \
+      && sed -i '/imklog/d' /etc/rsyslog.conf \
+      && rm /var/log/btmp /var/log/wtmp /var/log/*log /var/log/apt/* /var/log/dokku/* /var/log/nginx/*
diff --git a/contrib/dokku-docker-bin.sh b/contrib/dokku-docker-bin.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..3bc362322
--- /dev/null
+++ b/contrib/dokku-docker-bin.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail
+[[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x && DOKKU_DOCKER_ENV="--env DOKKU_TRACE=on"
+DOKKU_DOCKER_CONTAINER_NAME=${DOKKU_DOCKER_CONTAINER_NAME:=dokku}
+
+# TODO: handle cases where we need a tty
+# shellcheck disable=SC2086
+docker exec $DOKKU_DOCKER_ENV -i "$DOKKU_DOCKER_CONTAINER_NAME" dokku "$@"
diff --git a/contrib/release-dokku b/contrib/release-dokku
index f88f01a92..f56d4e564 100755
--- a/contrib/release-dokku
+++ b/contrib/release-dokku
@@ -206,13 +206,15 @@ fn-repo-update() {
 
   fn-replace-version "$CURRENT_VERSION" "$NEXT_VERSION" contrib/dokku-installer.py
   fn-replace-version "$CURRENT_VERSION" "$NEXT_VERSION" debian/control
+  fn-replace-version "$CURRENT_VERSION" "$NEXT_VERSION" Dockerfile
   fn-replace-version "$CURRENT_VERSION" "$NEXT_VERSION" docs/advanced-usage/plugin-management.md
   fn-replace-version "$CURRENT_VERSION" "$NEXT_VERSION" docs/assets/favicons/browserconfig.xml
   fn-replace-version "$CURRENT_VERSION" "$NEXT_VERSION" docs/assets/favicons/manifest.json
   fn-replace-version "$CURRENT_VERSION" "$NEXT_VERSION" docs/assets/style.css
   fn-replace-version "$CURRENT_VERSION" "$NEXT_VERSION" docs/development/release-process.md
-  fn-replace-version "$CURRENT_VERSION" "$NEXT_VERSION" docs/home.html
+  fn-replace-version "$CURRENT_VERSION" "$NEXT_VERSION" docs/getting-started/install/docker.md
   fn-replace-version "$CURRENT_VERSION" "$NEXT_VERSION" docs/getting-started/installation.md
+  fn-replace-version "$CURRENT_VERSION" "$NEXT_VERSION" docs/home.html
   fn-replace-version "$CURRENT_VERSION" "$NEXT_VERSION" docs/template.html
   fn-replace-version "$CURRENT_VERSION" "$NEXT_VERSION" README.md
 
@@ -317,6 +319,13 @@ fn-require-bin() {
   fi
 }
 
+fn-build-docker-image() {
+  declare desc="Builds the dokku docker image and tags it with the given version"
+  declare VERSION="$1"
+  docker build -t "dokku/dokku:$VERSION" .
+  docker push "dokku/dokku:$VERSION"
+}
+
 main() {
   declare RELEASE="$1"
   local CURRENT_VERSION NEXT_VERSION IS_RELEASE
@@ -358,12 +367,14 @@ main() {
   if [[ "$RELEASE" != "build" ]]; then
     fn-publish-package "$IS_RELEASE" "deb" "build/dokku_${NEXT_VERSION}_amd64.deb" || log-fail "Error publishing deb package"
     fn-publish-package "$IS_RELEASE" "rpm" "build/dokku-${NEXT_VERSION}-1.x86_64.rpm" || log-fail "Error publishing rpm package"
+    fn-build-docker-image "$NEXT_VERSION" || log-fail "Error building docker image"
     fn-repo-push-tags "$IS_RELEASE"
   fi
 
   if [[ "$IS_RELEASE" != "true" ]]; then
     git reset -q HEAD plugins/*/plugin.toml
     git checkout -- plugins/*/plugin.toml
+    cp "build/dokku_${NEXT_VERSION}_amd64.deb" build/dokku.deb
   fi
 
   echo "build/dokku_${NEXT_VERSION}_amd64.deb" >build/deb-filename
diff --git a/debian/postinst b/debian/postinst
index 789cbb50a..0cc555dda 100755
--- a/debian/postinst
+++ b/debian/postinst
@@ -33,11 +33,14 @@ case "$1" in
     configure)
     mandb
     [ ! -x /usr/bin/docker.io ] || ln -sf /usr/bin/docker.io /usr/local/bin/docker
-    modprobe aufs || echo "WARNING: Restart server to finish installing dokku!"
+    if [[ -f /sbin/modprobe ]]; then
+      modprobe aufs || echo "WARNING: Restart server to finish installing dokku!"
+    fi
     call-sshcommand create dokku /usr/bin/dokku
 
     egrep -i "^docker" /etc/group || groupadd docker
     usermod -aG docker dokku
+    mkdir -p ${DOKKU_ROOT}/.dokkurc
 
     echo "Setting up storage directories"
     mkdir -p ${DOKKU_LIB_ROOT}/data ${DOKKU_LIB_ROOT}/data/storage
diff --git a/docker/etc/cron.d/dokku-retire b/docker/etc/cron.d/dokku-retire
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ff81b231b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker/etc/cron.d/dokku-retire
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+PATH=/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin
+SHELL=/bin/bash
+
+*/5 * * * * root /usr/bin/dokku ps:retire >> /var/log/dokku/retire.log 2>&1
diff --git a/docker/etc/logrotate.d/services b/docker/etc/logrotate.d/services
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f64cc3925
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker/etc/logrotate.d/services
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+/var/log/services/* {
+  daily
+  missingok
+  rotate 7
+  compress
+  delaycompress
+  notifempty
+  copytruncate
+}
diff --git a/docker/etc/my_init.d/10_dokku_init b/docker/etc/my_init.d/10_dokku_init
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..7caff134b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker/etc/my_init.d/10_dokku_init
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+set -eo pipefail
+
+log-info() {
+  declare desc="Log info formatter"
+  echo "    $*" 1>&2
+}
+
+log-fail() {
+  declare desc="Log fail formatter"
+  echo "!   $*" 1>&2
+  exit 1
+}
+
+main() {
+  if [[ ! -d /mnt/dokku ]]; then
+    log-info "Creating missing /mnt/dokku"
+    mkdir -p /mnt/dokku
+  fi
+
+  directories=("/etc/ssh" "/home/dokku" "/var/lib/dokku/config" "/var/lib/dokku/data")
+  for dir in "${directories[@]}"; do
+    if [[ ! -e "$dir" ]]; then
+      log-info "Copying ${dir} skel into place"
+      mkdir -p "/mnt/dokku${dir}"
+      rsync -a "/skel${dir}/" "${dir}/" || log-fail "Unable to copy ${dir} skel into place"
+    fi
+
+    # chown mount directories to "dokku:dokku"
+    if [[ "$dir" != "/etc/ssh" ]]; then
+      find "$dir" -print0 | xargs -0 chown -h dokku:dokku
+    fi
+  done
+
+  if [[ -f /mnt/dokku/plugin-list ]]; then
+    while read line; do
+      dokku plugin:install "$(echo "$line" | awk '{print $2}')" "$(echo "$line" | cut -d':' -f1)"
+    done </mnt/dokku/plugin-list
+  fi
+
+  if [[ -n "$DOKKU_HOSTNAME" ]]; then
+    echo "dokku dokku/hostname string $DOKKU_HOSTNAME" | debconf-set-selections
+    echo "dokku dokku/vhost_enable boolean true" | debconf-set-selections
+    dokku --quiet domains:set-global "$DOKKU_HOSTNAME"
+  fi
+
+  if [[ -x /usr/local/bin/docker ]]; then
+    mkdir -p /home/dokku/.dokkurc
+    echo "export DOCKER_BIN=/usr/local/bin/docker" >"/home/dokku/.dokkurc/DOCKER_BIN"
+  fi
+
+  if [[ ! -f /mnt/dokku/etc/nginx/dhparam.pem ]]; then
+    mkdir -p /mnt/dokku/etc/nginx
+    openssl dhparam -out /mnt/dokku/etc/nginx/dhparam.pem 2048
+  fi
+
+  cp -f /mnt/dokku/etc/nginx/dhparam.pem /etc/nginx/dhparam.pem
+  chown root:root /etc/nginx/dhparam.pem
+  chown root:root /etc/nginx/conf.d
+}
+
+main "$@"
diff --git a/docker/etc/runit/runsvdir/default/dokku-restore/finish b/docker/etc/runit/runsvdir/default/dokku-restore/finish
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..ea80c20c0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker/etc/runit/runsvdir/default/dokku-restore/finish
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+exec >>/var/log/services/dokku-restore
+exec 2>&1
+
+if [[ "$1" -ne 0 ]]; then
+  echo "Error restoring dokku apps! Retrying in 30 seconds..."
+  exec sleep 30
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+echo "Done restoring dokku apps."
+exec sleep infinity
+
+exit 0
diff --git a/docker/etc/runit/runsvdir/default/dokku-restore/run b/docker/etc/runit/runsvdir/default/dokku-restore/run
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..4287517ac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker/etc/runit/runsvdir/default/dokku-restore/run
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+exec >>/var/log/services/dokku-restore
+exec 2>&1
+
+echo "Running dokku-restore"
+cd /tmp || exit 1
+
+exec dokku ps:restore
diff --git a/docker/etc/runit/runsvdir/default/nginx/run b/docker/etc/runit/runsvdir/default/nginx/run
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..3328faaaf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker/etc/runit/runsvdir/default/nginx/run
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+exec >>/var/log/services/nginx
+exec 2>&1
+
+echo "Running nginx"
+exec /usr/sbin/nginx -c /etc/nginx/nginx.conf -g "daemon off;"
diff --git a/docker/etc/runit/runsvdir/default/rsyslog/run b/docker/etc/runit/runsvdir/default/rsyslog/run
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..9a84a59ed
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker/etc/runit/runsvdir/default/rsyslog/run
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+exec >>/var/log/services/rsyslog
+exec 2>&1
+
+echo "Running rsyslog"
+exec /usr/sbin/rsyslogd -n
diff --git a/docker/etc/sudoers.d/dokku-docker b/docker/etc/sudoers.d/dokku-docker
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ea099f997
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker/etc/sudoers.d/dokku-docker
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+dokku    ALL=NOPASSWD:SETENV:/usr/bin/docker
diff --git a/docker/usr/local/bin/docker b/docker/usr/local/bin/docker
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..dcebde400
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker/usr/local/bin/docker
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail
+[[ $TRACE ]] && set -x
+
+main() {
+  declare desc="re-runs docker commands as sudo"
+  local DOCKER_BIN=""
+  if [[ -x "/usr/bin/docker" ]]; then
+    DOCKER_BIN="/usr/bin/docker"
+  fi
+
+  if [[ -z "$DOCKER_BIN" ]]; then
+    echo "!   No docker binary found" 1>&2
+    exit 1
+  fi
+
+  sudo -E "$DOCKER_BIN" "$@"
+}
+
+main "$@"
diff --git a/docs/getting-started/install/azure.md b/docs/getting-started/install/azure.md
index 6d61ddda9..a9beb19c5 100644
--- a/docs/getting-started/install/azure.md
+++ b/docs/getting-started/install/azure.md
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# Microsoft Azure
+# Microsoft Azure Installation Notes
 
 1. If you don't already have one [generate an SSH key pair](https://help.github.com/articles/generating-ssh-keys/).
 
diff --git a/docs/getting-started/install/digitalocean.md b/docs/getting-started/install/digitalocean.md
index 2d9462413..caf2a717b 100644
--- a/docs/getting-started/install/digitalocean.md
+++ b/docs/getting-started/install/digitalocean.md
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# DigitalOcean Droplet
+# DigitalOcean Droplet Installation Notes
 
 [DigitalOcean](https://www.digitalocean.com/products/compute/) offers a pre-installed Dokku image. You can run this image on any sized Droplet, although larger Droplets will allow you to run larger applications.
 
diff --git a/docs/getting-started/install/docker.md b/docs/getting-started/install/docker.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..cb03f5622
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/getting-started/install/docker.md
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+# Docker Installation Notes
+
+Pull the dokku/dokku image:
+
+```shell
+docker pull dokku/dokku:v0.17.7
+```
+
+Next, run the image.
+
+```shell
+docker run \
+  --env DOKKU_HOSTNAME=dokku.me \
+  --name dokku \
+  --publish 3022:22 \
+  --publish 8080:80 \
+  --publish 8443:443 \
+  --volume /var/lib/dokku:/mnt/dokku \
+  --volume /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
+  dokku/dokku:v0.17.7
+```
+
+Dokku is run with the following options:
+
+- The global hostname is set to `dokku.me` on boot.
+- The container name is dokku.
+- Container SSH port 22 is exposed on the host as 3022.
+- Container HTTP port 80 is exposed on the host as 8080.
+- Container HTTPS port 443 is exposed on the host as 8443.
+- Data within the container is stored on the host within the `/var/lib/dokku` directory.
+- The docker socket is mounted into container
+
+Application repositories, plugin config, and plugin data is persisted to disk within the specified host directory for `/var/lib/dokku`.
+
+To install custom plugins, create a `plugin-list` file in the host's `/var/lib/dokku` directory. The plugins listed herein will be automatically installed by Dokku on container boot. This file should be the following format:
+
+```yaml
+plugin_name: repository_url
+```
+
+An example for installing the postgres and redis plugins follows:
+
+```yaml
+postgres: https://github.com/dokku/dokku-postgres.git
+redis: https://github.com/dokku/dokku-redis.git
+```
+
+To initialize ssh-keys within the container, use `docker exec` to enter the container and run the appropriate ssh-keys commands.
+
+```shell
+docker exec -it dokku bash
+```
+
+Please see the [user management documentation](/docs/deployment/user-management.md) for more information.
diff --git a/docs/getting-started/install/dreamhost.md b/docs/getting-started/install/dreamhost.md
index 0f4d005f2..a664d94f5 100644
--- a/docs/getting-started/install/dreamhost.md
+++ b/docs/getting-started/install/dreamhost.md
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# Install Dokku on DreamHost Cloud Server with cloud-init
+# DreamHost Cloud Server Installation Notes
 
 Cloud-init script can be used to automate installation of Dokku on
 Dreamhost (or any other OpenStack-compatible cloud with minimal
diff --git a/docs/getting-started/install/vagrant.md b/docs/getting-started/install/vagrant.md
index 3ea1e9f72..5b8055ed6 100644
--- a/docs/getting-started/install/vagrant.md
+++ b/docs/getting-started/install/vagrant.md
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# Install Dokku using Vagrant
+# Vagrant Installation Notes
 
 1. Download and install [VirtualBox](https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads).
 
diff --git a/plugins/scheduler-docker-local/check-deploy b/plugins/scheduler-docker-local/check-deploy
index 148c427f7..f3d8a96f8 100755
--- a/plugins/scheduler-docker-local/check-deploy
+++ b/plugins/scheduler-docker-local/check-deploy
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ scheduler-docker-local-check-deploy() {
   local CHECK_DEPLOY_TMP_WORK_DIR=$(mktemp -d "/tmp/dokku-${FUNCNAME[0]}.XXXX")
   "$DOCKER_BIN" cp "$DOKKU_APP_CONTAINER_ID:/app/CHECKS" "$CHECK_DEPLOY_TMP_WORK_DIR" 2>/dev/null || true
 
-  local FILENAME=${CHECK_DEPLOY_TMP_WORK_DIR}/CHECKS
+  local CHECKS_FILENAME=${CHECK_DEPLOY_TMP_WORK_DIR}/CHECKS
 
   checks_check_deploy_cleanup() {
     declare desc="cleans up CHECK_DEPLOY_TMP_WORK_DIR and print container output"
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ scheduler-docker-local-check-deploy() {
   }
   trap "checks_check_deploy_cleanup $DOKKU_APP_CONTAINER_ID" RETURN INT TERM EXIT
 
-  if [[ ! -s "${CHECK_DEPLOY_TMP_WORK_DIR}/CHECKS" ]] || [[ "$DOKKU_APP_CONTAINER_TYPE" != "web" ]]; then
+  if [[ ! -s "${CHECKS_FILENAME}" ]] || [[ "$DOKKU_APP_CONTAINER_TYPE" != "web" ]]; then
     # We allow custom check for web instances only
     if [[ "$DOKKU_APP_CONTAINER_TYPE" == "web" ]]; then
       dokku_log_verbose "For more efficient zero downtime deployments, create a file CHECKS."
@@ -131,12 +131,18 @@ scheduler-docker-local-check-deploy() {
   fi
 
   # ensure CHECKS file has trailing newline
-  if [[ "$(tail -c1 "$FILENAME")" != "" ]]; then
-    echo "" >>"$FILENAME"
+  if [[ "$(tail -c1 "$CHECKS_FILENAME")" != "" ]]; then
+    # workaround for CHECKS file when owner is root. seems to only happen when running inside docker
+    if [[ "$(stat -c %u "$CHECKS_FILENAME")" == "0" ]]; then
+      local NEW_CHECKS_FILENAME=${CHECK_DEPLOY_TMP_WORK_DIR}/$(mktemp dokku-${FUNCNAME[0]}-CHECKS.XXXX)
+      cat ${CHECKS_FILENAME} >${NEW_CHECKS_FILENAME}
+      CHECKS_FILENAME=$NEW_CHECKS_FILENAME
+    fi
+    echo "" >>"$CHECKS_FILENAME"
   fi
 
   # Reads name/value pairs, sets the WAIT and TIMEOUT variables
-  exec <"$FILENAME"
+  exec <"$CHECKS_FILENAME"
   local line
   local NAME
   local VALUE
@@ -173,7 +179,7 @@ scheduler-docker-local-check-deploy() {
       local CURL_OPTIONS+=" -H X-Forwarded-Proto:https"
     fi
 
-    exec <"$FILENAME"
+    exec <"$CHECKS_FILENAME"
     local CHECK_URL
     local EXPECTED
     while read -r CHECK_URL EXPECTED; do
diff --git a/rpm/dokku.postinst b/rpm/dokku.postinst
index 4658c75b1..182e645c0 100644
--- a/rpm/dokku.postinst
+++ b/rpm/dokku.postinst
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ setup-user() {
   touch "$DOKKU_ROOT/.ssh/authorized_keys"
   chown -R dokku:dokku "$DOKKU_ROOT/.ssh"
   usermod -aG docker dokku
+  mkdir -p "$DOKKU_ROOT/.dokkurc"
 }
 
 setup-storage() {
diff --git a/tests.mk b/tests.mk
index c42dc22b3..c3dfc5fbd 100644
--- a/tests.mk
+++ b/tests.mk
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 SYSTEM := $(shell sh -c 'uname -s 2>/dev/null')
+DOKKU_SSH_PORT ?= 22
 
 bats:
 ifeq ($(SYSTEM),Darwin)
@@ -42,13 +43,12 @@ else
 endif
 endif
 
-ci-dependencies: bats shellcheck shfmt xmlstarlet
+ci-dependencies: bats shellcheck xmlstarlet
 
 setup-deploy-tests:
-	mkdir -p /home/dokku
 ifdef ENABLE_DOKKU_TRACE
-	echo "-----> Enabling tracing"
-	echo "export DOKKU_TRACE=1" >> /home/dokku/dokkurc
+	echo "-----> Enable dokku trace"
+	dokku trace:on
 endif
 	@echo "Setting dokku.me in /etc/hosts"
 	sudo /bin/bash -c "[[ `ping -c1 dokku.me >/dev/null 2>&1; echo $$?` -eq 0 ]] || echo \"127.0.0.1  dokku.me *.dokku.me www.test.app.dokku.me\" >> /etc/hosts"
@@ -61,11 +61,14 @@ endif
 
 	@echo "-----> Setting up ssh config..."
 ifneq ($(shell ls /root/.ssh/config >/dev/null 2>&1 ; echo $$?),0)
-	echo "Host dokku.me \\r\\n RequestTTY yes \\r\\n IdentityFile /root/.ssh/dokku_test_rsa" >> /root/.ssh/config
+	echo "Host dokku.me \\r\\n Port $(DOKKU_SSH_PORT) \\r\\n RequestTTY yes \\r\\n IdentityFile /root/.ssh/dokku_test_rsa" >> /root/.ssh/config
 	echo "Host 127.0.0.1 \\r\\n Port 22333 \\r\\n RequestTTY yes \\r\\n IdentityFile /root/.ssh/dokku_test_rsa" >> /root/.ssh/config
 else ifeq ($(shell grep dokku.me /root/.ssh/config),)
-	echo "Host dokku.me \\r\\n RequestTTY yes \\r\\n IdentityFile /root/.ssh/dokku_test_rsa" >> /root/.ssh/config
+	echo "Host dokku.me \\r\\n Port $(DOKKU_SSH_PORT) \\r\\n RequestTTY yes \\r\\n IdentityFile /root/.ssh/dokku_test_rsa" >> /root/.ssh/config
 	echo "Host 127.0.0.1 \\r\\n Port 22333 \\r\\n RequestTTY yes \\r\\n IdentityFile /root/.ssh/dokku_test_rsa" >> /root/.ssh/config
+else
+	sed --in-place 's/Port 22 \r/Port $(DOKKU_SSH_PORT) \r/g' /root/.ssh/config
+	cat /root/.ssh/config
 endif
 
 ifneq ($(wildcard /etc/ssh/sshd_config),)
@@ -80,30 +83,46 @@ endif
 	sudo sshcommand acl-remove dokku test
 	cat /root/.ssh/dokku_test_rsa.pub | sudo sshcommand acl-add dokku test
 
-	@echo "-----> Intitial SSH connection to populate known_hosts..."
-	ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no dokku@dokku.me help >/dev/null
-	ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no dokku@127.0.0.1 help >/dev/null
-
 ifeq ($(shell grep dokku.me /home/dokku/VHOST 2>/dev/null),)
 	@echo "-----> Setting default VHOST to dokku.me..."
 	echo "dokku.me" > /home/dokku/VHOST
 endif
+ifeq ($(DOKKU_SSH_PORT), 22)
+	$(MAKE) prime-ssh-known-hosts
+endif
+
+setup-docker-deploy-tests: setup-deploy-tests
+ifdef ENABLE_DOKKU_TRACE
+	echo "-----> Enable dokku trace"
+	docker exec -ti dokku bash -c "dokku trace:on"
+endif
+	docker exec -ti dokku bash -c "sshcommand acl-remove dokku test"
+	docker exec -ti dokku bash -c "echo `cat /root/.ssh/dokku_test_rsa.pub` | sshcommand acl-add dokku test"
+	$(MAKE) prime-ssh-known-hosts
+
+prime-ssh-known-hosts:
+	@echo "-----> Intitial SSH connection to populate known_hosts..."
+	ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no dokku@dokku.me help >/dev/null
+	ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no dokku@127.0.0.1 help >/dev/null
 
 lint-setup:
 	@mkdir -p test-results/shellcheck tmp/shellcheck
 	@find . -not -path '*/\.*' -not -path './debian/*' -type f | xargs file | grep text | awk -F ':' '{ print $$1 }' | xargs head -n1 | egrep -B1 "bash" | grep "==>" | awk '{ print $$2 }' > tmp/shellcheck/test-files
 	@cat tests/shellcheck-exclude | sed -n -e '/^# SC/p' | cut -d' ' -f2 | paste -d, -s > tmp/shellcheck/exclude
 
-lint: lint-setup
-	# verifying via shfmt
-	# shfmt -l -bn -ci -i 2 -d .
-	@shfmt -l -bn -ci -i 2 -d .
-
+lint-ci: lint-setup
 	# these are disabled due to their expansive existence in the codebase. we should clean it up though
 	@cat tests/shellcheck-exclude | sed -n -e '/^# SC/p'
 	@echo linting...
 	@cat tmp/shellcheck/test-files | xargs shellcheck -e $(shell cat tmp/shellcheck/exclude) | tests/shellcheck-to-junit --output test-results/shellcheck/results.xml --files tmp/shellcheck/test-files --exclude $(shell cat tmp/shellcheck/exclude)
 
+lint-shfmt: shfmt
+	# verifying via shfmt
+	# shfmt -l -bn -ci -i 2 -d .
+	@shfmt -l -bn -ci -i 2 -d .
+
+lint: lint-shfmt lint-ci
+
 ci-go-coverage:
 	docker run --rm -ti \
 		-e DOKKU_ROOT=/home/dokku \
@@ -242,3 +261,5 @@ test-ci:
 	@mkdir -p test-results/bats
 	@cd tests/unit && echo "executing tests: $(shell cd tests/unit ; circleci tests glob *.bats | circleci tests split --split-by=timings --timings-type=classname | xargs)"
 	cd tests/unit && bats --formatter bats-format-junit -e -T -o ../../test-results/bats $(shell cd tests/unit ; circleci tests glob *.bats | circleci tests split --split-by=timings --timings-type=classname | xargs)
+
+test-ci-docker: setup-docker-deploy-tests deploy-test-checks-root deploy-test-config deploy-test-multi deploy-test-go-fail-predeploy deploy-test-go-fail-postdeploy
diff --git a/tests/ci/setup.sh b/tests/ci/setup.sh
index 190f2812e..b5e8e5099 100755
--- a/tests/ci/setup.sh
+++ b/tests/ci/setup.sh
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ set -eo pipefail
 readonly ROOT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "$(dirname "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")")")" && pwd)"
 
 install_dependencies() {
+  echo "=====> install_dependencies on CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX: $CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX"
+
   mkdir -p "$ROOT_DIR/build/"
   HEROKUISH_VERSION=$(grep HEROKUISH_VERSION "${ROOT_DIR}/deb.mk" | head -n1 | cut -d' ' -f3)
   HEROKUISH_PACKAGE_NAME="herokuish_${HEROKUISH_VERSION}_amd64.deb"
@@ -30,20 +32,27 @@ install_dependencies() {
   sudo apt-get -qq -y install cgroupfs-mount nginx
   sudo cp "${ROOT_DIR}/tests/dhparam.pem" /etc/nginx/dhparam.pem
 
-  sudo dpkg -i "${ROOT_DIR}/build/$HEROKUISH_PACKAGE_NAME"
-  sudo dpkg -i "${ROOT_DIR}/build/$PLUGN_PACKAGE_NAME"
-  sudo dpkg -i "${ROOT_DIR}/build/$SSHCOMMAND_PACKAGE_NAME"
-  sudo dpkg -i "${ROOT_DIR}/build/$SIGIL_PACKAGE_NAME"
-  sudo dpkg -i "${ROOT_DIR}/build/$PROCFILE_UTIL_PACKAGE_NAME"
+  sudo dpkg -i "${ROOT_DIR}/build/$HEROKUISH_PACKAGE_NAME" \
+    "${ROOT_DIR}/build/$PLUGN_PACKAGE_NAME" \
+    "${ROOT_DIR}/build/$SSHCOMMAND_PACKAGE_NAME" \
+    "${ROOT_DIR}/build/$SIGIL_PACKAGE_NAME" \
+    "${ROOT_DIR}/build/$PROCFILE_UTIL_PACKAGE_NAME"
+}
+
+build_dokku() {
+  echo "=====> build_dokku on CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX: $CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX"
+  "${ROOT_DIR}/contrib/release-dokku" build
 }
 
 install_dokku() {
+  echo "=====> install_dokku on CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX: $CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX"
+
   if [[ "$FROM_SOURCE" == "true" ]]; then
     sudo -E CI=true make -e install
     return
   fi
 
-  "${ROOT_DIR}/contrib/release-dokku" build
+  build_dokku
 
   echo "dokku dokku/hostname string dokku.me" | sudo debconf-set-selections
   echo "dokku dokku/key_file string /root/.ssh/id_rsa.pub" | sudo debconf-set-selections
@@ -54,6 +63,45 @@ install_dokku() {
   sudo dpkg -i "$(cat "${ROOT_DIR}/build/deb-filename")"
 }
 
+build_dokku_docker_image() {
+  echo "=====> build_dokku_docker_image on CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX: $CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX"
+  docker build -t dokku/dokku:test .
+}
+
+run_dokku_container() {
+  echo "=====> run_dokku_container on CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX: $CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX"
+  docker run -d \
+    --env DOKKU_HOSTNAME=dokku.me \
+    --name dokku \
+    --publish 3022:22 \
+    --publish 80:80 \
+    --publish 443:443 \
+    --volume /var/lib/dokku:/mnt/dokku \
+    --volume /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
+    dokku/dokku:test
+
+  check_container
+}
+
+check_container() {
+  echo "=====> check_container on CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX: $CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX"
+  local is_up
+  local cnt=0
+  while true; do
+    echo "$(date) [count: $cnt]: waiting for dokku startup"
+    is_up=$(
+      docker exec -ti dokku ps -ef | grep "/usr/sbin/sshd -D" >/dev/null 2>&1
+      echo $?
+    )
+    if [[ $is_up -eq 0 ]]; then
+      echo "" && docker logs dokku
+      break
+    fi
+    sleep 2
+    cnt=$((cnt + 1))
+  done
+}
+
 # shellcheck disable=SC2120
 setup_circle() {
   echo "=====> setup_circle on CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX: $CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX"
@@ -66,8 +114,6 @@ setup_circle() {
   install_dokku
 
   sudo -E make -e setup-deploy-tests
-  bash --version
-  docker version
   lsb_release -a
   # setup .dokkurc
   sudo -E mkdir -p /home/dokku/.dokkurc
@@ -77,6 +123,16 @@ setup_circle() {
   sudo docker pull node:4
 }
 
-# shellcheck disable=SC2119
-setup_circle
-exit $?
+case "$1" in
+  docker)
+    sudo /etc/init.d/nginx stop
+    build_dokku_docker_image
+    run_dokku_container
+    ;;
+  *)
+    # shellcheck disable=SC2119
+    setup_circle
+    exit $?
+    ;;
+esac
+