python-nsjail

Prebuilt nsjail executables packaged as Python wheels

Overview

python-nsjail distributes the nsjail binary as a Python package for easy installation via pip.

Note: This is not a Python library — it only provides the nsjail binary executable.

Installation

pip install python-nsjail

This creates an nsjail command in your environment's bin/ directory (e.g., ~/.local/bin/nsjail or /some/where/.venv/bin/nsjail).

How it works: The nsjail command is a small Python wrapper that executes the actual nsjail binary bundled inside the package. The wrapper uses os.execl() to replace itself with the real binary, preserving the process ID.

Virtual Environment (Recommended)

Using a virtual environment keeps nsjail isolated:

# Create venv
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate

# Install python-nsjail
pip install python-nsjail

# Verify
nsjail-status

Usage

Command line

nsjail --help

Check nsjail path

nsjail-find

Output:

nsjail status:
  System PATH:   /root/workspaces/python-nsjail/.venv/bin/nsjail
  Bundled:       /root/workspaces/python-nsjail/src/nsjail/nsjail

Package version: 0.1.0b3.dev1+g71c0da62d.d20260323
Bundled nsjail:  3.6

Building from Source

For development or building from source, see CONTRIBUTING.md.

System Requirements

• OS: Linux only
• Kernel: Linux 5.10+ (some nsjail features require newer kernel syscalls)
• Permissions: Using nsjail requires CAP_SYS_ADMIN or root
• Python: Python 3.9+

Platform Compatibility

Platform	libc	Compatible With	CPU Requirement
manylinux_2_34_x86_64	glibc 2.34	Ubuntu 22.04+, Debian 12+, RHEL 9+	x86-64-v2* (SSE4.2, POPCNT)
manylinux_2_34_aarch64	glibc 2.34	ARM64 systems	ARM64 (v8+)
musllinux_1_2_x86_64	musl 1.2	Alpine Linux, other musl-based	x86-64-v2* (SSE4.2, POPCNT)
musllinux_1_2_aarch64	musl 1.2	Alpine Linux ARM64	ARM64 (v8+)

⚠️ x86-64-v2 Note:
The x86_64 wheels are built with manylinux_2_34 containers which use x86-64-v2 by default. This requires a CPU from ~2010 or later (supports SSE4.2 and POPCNT instructions). Most modern systems support this. If you need to run on older x86-64 hardware (pre-2010), please use the source distribution or build from source.

License

• nsjail: Apache-2.0 (see google/nsjail)
• python-nsjail packaging: Apache-2.0