Docker and Kubernetes: The Complete Guide (Udemy.com)
Build, test, and deploy Docker applications with Kubernetes while learning production-style development workflows
Created by: Stephen Grider
Last updated February 2026
Our take
Based on the ratings of 62,739 students, a sample of their written reviews and the syllabus, as the course stood in February 2026. No course pays to be reviewed.
Stephen Grider's course starts with what a container actually is, then moves through the Docker CLI, custom images, Docker Compose, a CI and deployment pipeline, and finally Kubernetes. It runs about 21.6 hours over 310 lectures, and a single Node, React, Redis and Postgres app carries most of the learning. The syllabus lists no coding exercises, so it is mostly watch and follow along. The JavaScript is optional because the source code is provided. Basic terminal comfort is the only skill prerequisite, though deploying to AWS or Google Cloud needs a credit card.
Teaching is the big draw. Reviewers call the explanations simple, clear and thorough, and one says the early Docker sections taught them a lot. The complaints cluster in one place. Travis CI no longer has a free tier, so students could not finish the pipeline sections, and reviewers say the AWS screens have changed. Some videos carry notes listing code changes, and the GitHub Actions notes come with little explanation. One reviewer also found the pace fast and the delivery hard to follow.
The course was last updated in February 2026, yet recent reviews still ask for a rewrite of the deployment parts. Among 62,739 ratings, most are four or five stars, so the 4.6 average holds up. Docker and Kubernetes theory is still well served. Treat the CI and AWS sections as reading material and plan to rebuild them with GitHub Actions. It is a solid pick for concepts, a shakier one for following every lab exactly as filmed.
Pros
- Explains containers from first principles before touching the CLI
- One multi-container Node, React, Redis and Postgres app ties the lessons together
- Covers Docker Compose, Kubernetes, Ingress, HTTPS and Skaffold in a single course
- Reviewers call the explanations simple, clear and thorough
Cons
- Travis CI no longer has a free tier, so the CI sections can't be completed as filmed
- AWS console screens have changed, and some videos need code fixes from notes
- No coding exercises, and one reviewer found the pace fast and the delivery hard to follow
Instructor is really thorough and gives the complete picture of what's going on.
Fine for newcomers to Docker who have basic terminal skills, aimed at developers who deploy web apps.
Featured in our guide: The Best DevOps Courses on Udemy in 2026
What you will learn
- Learn Docker from scratch, no previous experience required
- Master the Docker CLI to inspect and debug running containers
- Build a CI + CD pipeline from scratch with Github, Travis CI, and AWS
- Understand the purpose and theory of Kubernetes by building a complex app
- Automatically deploy your code when it is pushed to Github!
- Develop practical skills through hands-on projects and exercises
Course content
19 sections · 310 lectures · 22 hours of video 13 quizzes, 66 articles
- 1Dive Into Docker! 5 free previews10 lectures · 1 quiz · 31 min
- 2Manipulating Containers with the Docker Client14 lectures · 2 quizzes · 51 min
- 3Building Custom Images Through Docker Server10 lectures · 4 quizzes · 48 min
- 4Making Real Projects with Docker11 lectures · 2 quizzes · 54 min
- 5Docker Compose with Multiple Local Containers12 lectures · 53 min
- 6Creating a Production-Grade Workflow24 lectures · 1.6 hours
- 7Continuous Integration and Deployment with AWS21 lectures · 1.2 hours
- 8Building a Multi-Container Application14 lectures · 1.2 hours
- 9"Dockerizing" Multiple Services19 lectures · 1.3 hours
- 10A Continuous Integration Workflow for Multiple Images12 lectures · 49 min
- 11Multi-Container Deployments to AWS25 lectures · 1.9 hours
- 12Onwards to Kubernetes!16 lectures · 3 quizzes · 1.7 hours
- 13Maintaining Sets of Containers with Deployments18 lectures · 1 quiz · 1.5 hours
- 14A Multi-Container App with Kubernetes30 lectures · 2.4 hours
- 15Handling Traffic with Ingress Controllers12 lectures · 35 min
- 16Kubernetes Production Deployment36 lectures · 2.3 hours
- 17HTTPS Setup with Kubernetes18 lectures · 49 min
- 18Local Development with Skaffold7 lectures · 30 min
- 19Extras1 lecture · 1 min
Who it is for
The instructor says it suits
- Software engineers looking to deploy their apps easily and quickly
What you need before you start
- Basic understanding of terminal and command line usage
- No previous Docker or Kubernetes experience is required!
- A credit card is required to deploy projects to AWS or Google Cloud
How it compares
Against the other 219 rated Udemy courses in DevOps on CourseDuck:
- Rating4.6 out of 5higher than 78% of them
- Reviews62,739#5 of 220 by number of reviews
- Length21.6 hourslonger than 91% of them
- Last updatedFebruary 2026more recently than 75% of them
Course Description
If you're tired of spinning your wheels learning how to deploy web applications, this is the course for you.
This course requires you to download Docker Desktop from Docker. If you are a Udemy Business user, please check with your employer before downloading software.
CI+CD Workflows? You will learn it. AWS Deployment? Included. Kubernetes in Production? Of course!
This is the ultimate course to learn how to deploy any web application you can possibly dream up. Docker and Kubernetes are the newest tech in the Dev Ops world, and have dramatically changed the flow of creating and deploying web apps. Docker is a technology that allows applications to run in constructs called 'containers', while Kubernetes allows for many different 'containers' to run in coordination.
Docker from Scratch!
In this course you'll learn Docker from absolute fundamentals, beginning by learning the answer to basic questions such as "What is a container?" and "How does a container work?". From the very first few lectures, we will do a deep dive on the inner workings of containers, so you get a core understanding of exactly how they are implemented. Once you understand what a container is, you'll learn how to work with them using basic Docker CLI commands. After that, you'll apply your new-found mastery of the Docker CLI to build your own custom images, effectively 'Dockerizing' your own personal applications.
CI + CD Pipelines
Of course, no course on Docker would be complete without a full understanding of common Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment patterns. You will learn how to implement a full CI + CD workflow using Github, Travis CI, and Amazon Web Services, creating a pipeline that automatically deploys your code every time you push your latest changes to Github!
Multi-Container Deployments on AWS!
After building a deployment pipeline, you'll apply it to master both single-container and multi-container deployments on Amazon Web Services. You will construct a multi-container application utilizing Node, React, Redis, and Postgres, and see the amazing power of containers in action (Note: all Javascript coding in this course is optional, the full source code is provided if you don't want to write JS).
Kubernetes!
Finally, you will tackle Kubernetes, a production-grade system for managing complex applications with many different running containers. You will learn the right way to build a Kubernetes Cluster - this course doesn't have any of those annoying "don't do this in production" comments! You will first build a Kubernetes Cluster on your local machine, then eventually move it over to a cloud provider. You'll even learn how to set up HTTPS on Kubernetes, which is harder than it sounds!
Here's what you'll do:
Learn Docker from scratch, no previous experience required
Build your own custom images tailored to your applications
Master the Docker CLI to inspect and debug running containers
Understand how Docker works behind the scenes, and what a container is
Build a CI + CD pipeline from scratch with Github, Travis CI, and AWS
Automatically deploy your code when it is pushed to Github!
Build a complex multi-container application from scratch and deploy it to AWS
Understand the purpose and theory of Kubernetes
Deploy a production-ready Kubernetes Cluster to Google Cloud
Instructor Details
- 4.6 Rating
62,739 Reviews
Stephen Grider
Stephen Grider has been building complex Javascript front ends for top corporations in the San Francisco Bay Area. With an innate ability to simplify complex topics, Stephen has been mentoring engineers beginning their careers in software development for years, and has now expanded that experience onto Udemy, authoring the highest rated React course. He teaches on Udemy to share the knowledge he has gained with other software engineers. Invest in yourself by learning from Stephen's published courses.
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Reviews
By Abhishek Sunam on 9/7/2026
Stephen is one of the greatest instructor of this generation. The way he explains things makes you looks soo simple and understandable. Thank you Stephen sir!
By Karim Hafez on 7/26/2026
It's good but it needs an update. Travis CI is paid service now even at the lowest tier, meaning I was not able to follow through with it. The deployment sections could've been substituted with github actions for example or any other free workflow
By Onimole Oludolamu on 6/14/2026
Excellent course so far. Just about to complete Docker. Course could make do with a makeover since a lot of the interface has now changed. Travis CI also no longer offers free tier so couldnt finish that part.
By Soham Chakraborty on 5/5/2026
Amazing for those who are absolute beginner into the world of docker. This Teacher's teaching method is very unique, engaging and fun , unlike many other tutorial videos I have watched. I absolutely recommend this tutorial.
By Monica Das on 4/30/2026
The Instructor is so generous in explaining every bit of all the terms and all issues in detail. I hardly found such teacher in other courses.
By Dan Mellick on 3/13/2026
I agree with other reviews in that this course will get a beginner up and running. It should be noted that the course was developed in 2018 and though there are updates to the code to get it running the lectures have not been updated.
By Thomas Ogola on 3/9/2026
Best explanations. Thorough and moves at a good pace to make you really understand what's going on but without being too slow
By George P on 2/21/2026
Got me up and running on Docker. The GCP section has obsolete stuff from 2018 - 2020 on Kubernetes. I used Docker Hub after it added automated stuff for Kubernetes in 2024, so I was fortunate to coincidentally wait to take the course until 2026. The VM section has some backdoor vulnerabilities, as does the CLI Ruby installation for the GCP tools. Grider mentions security risks with an unencrypted Service Action file being shared, but with a lot of IaaS involved he doesn't mention cutting edge things like the Ruby issue. It could be thrown in there based on remote access to the Service Action file using Telnet or something. Because now in 2026 AWS and others have upped their game in cloud security.
By Mohammad Noor AbuKhlaif on 1/31/2026
Great course overall. It would be even stronger if it explicitly compared modern, real-world alternatives such as Docker Swarm vs. Kubernetes and GitHub Actions vs. Travis CI. That said, this is a genuinely solid resource with a unique teaching style. The instructor does a great job keeping things engaging for most of the course, which isn’t easy with topics like Docker. Note: I’m about 45% through the course, and this review is based on the Docker portion so far. I haven’t started the Kubernetes section yet.
By Anonymized User on 1/5/2026
This is one of the best tutorials I’ve come across. The explanation is very clear and easy to follow. Everything is well-connected and makes complete sense. Truly excellent work—no words can fully express my appreciation. Please keep sharing such valuable content.
By Frankie Meszaros on 11/14/2020
Thorough walkthroughs on all things cloud which is very helpful. It might be out of scope, but it'd be cool to generate some of these cloud resources using infrastructure-as-code.
By Muhmmad on 11/14/2020
I've taken Stephen's Solidty and Microservices course before and I must say hands down he is the best teacher i've come across. He just makes everything he teaches understandable.
Quality Score
No CourseDuck member has rated this course yet. Taken it? Give each part a thumbs up or down.
Overall Score : 92 / 100












