Hello, world!
% container system start Verifying apiserver is running... Installing base container filesystem... No default kernel configured. Install the recommended default kernel from [https://github.com/kata-containers/kata-containers/releases/download/3.17.0/kata-static-3.17.0-arm64.tar.xz]? [Y/n]: y Installing kernel... -``` +Then, verify that the application is working by running a command to list all containers: @@ -33,17 +33,17 @@ container list --all If you haven't created any containers yet, the command outputs an empty list: -```shellsession +
% container list --all ID IMAGE OS ARCH STATE ADDR % -``` +### Get CLI help You can get help for any `container` CLI command by appending the `--help` option: -```shellsession +
% container --help OVERVIEW: A container platform for macOS @@ -76,17 +76,17 @@ SYSTEM SUBCOMMANDS: system, s Manage system components % -``` +### Abbreviations You can save keystrokes by abbreviating commands and options. For example, abbreviate the `container list` command to `container ls`, and the `--all` option to `-a`: -```shellsession +
% container ls -a ID IMAGE OS ARCH STATE ADDR % -``` +Use the `--help` flag to see which abbreviations exist. @@ -156,13 +156,13 @@ The last argument `.` tells the builder to use the current directory (`web-test` After the build completes, list the images. You should see both the base image and the image that you built in the results: -```shellsession +
% container images list NAME TAG DIGEST docker.io/library/python slim 56a11364ffe0fee3bd60af6d... web-test latest bf91dc9d42f0110d3aac41dd... % -``` +## Run containers @@ -180,13 +180,13 @@ The `--detach` flag runs the container in the background, so that you can contin When you list containers now, `my-web-server` is present, along with the container that `container` started to build your image. Note that its IP address, shown in the `ADDR` column, is `192.168.64.3`: -```shellsession +
% container ls ID IMAGE OS ARCH STATE ADDR buildkit ghcr.io/apple/container-builder-shim/builder:2.1.1 linux arm64 running 192.168.64.2 my-web-server web-test:latest linux arm64 running 192.168.64.3 % -``` +Open the website, using the container's IP address in the URL: @@ -202,18 +202,26 @@ open http://my-web-server.test ### Run other commands in the container -You can run other commands in `my-web-server` by using the `container exec` command. To list the files under the content directory, run an `ls` command: +You can run other commands in `my-web-server` by using the `container exec` command. ```shellsession +container exec my-web-server ls /content +``` +This will list all the files under the content directory +
% container exec my-web-server ls /content index.html logo.jpg -% -``` +-If you want to poke around in the container, run a shell and issue one or more commands: +If you want to poke around in the container, run a shell ```shellsession +container exec --tty --interactive my-web-server bash +``` +... and issue one or more commands inside the container : + +
% container exec --tty --interactive my-web-server bash root@my-web-server:/content# ls index.html logo.jpg @@ -221,7 +229,8 @@ root@my-web-server:/content# uname -a Linux my-web-server 6.1.68 #1 SMP Mon Mar 31 18:27:51 UTC 2025 aarch64 GNU/Linux root@my-web-server:/content# exit exit% -``` + +The `--tty` and `--interactive` flag allow you to interact with the shell from your host terminal. The `--tty` flag tells the shell in the container that its input is a terminal device, and the `--interacive` flag connects what you input in your host terminal to the input of the shell in the container. @@ -232,10 +241,14 @@ You will often see these two options abbreviated and specified together as `-ti` Your web server is accessible from other containers as well as from your host. Launch a second container using your `web-test` image, and this time, specify a `curl` command to retrieve the `index.html` content from the first container. ```shellsession +container run -it --rm web-test curl http://192.168.64.3 +``` +You will see the same web content we saw earlier in this tutorial +
% container run -it --rm web-test curl http://192.168.64.3If you set up the `test` domain earlier, you can achieve the same result with: @@ -292,12 +305,12 @@ container stop my-web-server If you list all running and stopped containers, you will see that the `--rm` flag you supplied with the `container run` command caused the container to be removed: -```bash +Hello % -``` +
% container ls --all ID IMAGE OS ARCH STATE ADDR buildkit ghcr.io/apple/container-builder-shim/builder:2.1.1 linux arm64 running 192.168.64.2 % -``` +To shut down and remove all containers, run: