COMPATIBILITY¶

This project does not need a dedicated image. It can use any OCI images from docker-hub, quay.io, or any registry of your choice.

Many cloud images are stripped down on purpose to save size and may not include commands such as which, mount, less or vi). Additional packages can be installed once inside the container. We recommend using your preferred automation tool inside the container if you find yourself having to repeatedly create new containers. Maintaining your own custom image is also an option.

The main concern is having basic Linux utilities (mount), basic user management utilities (usermod, passwd), and sudo correctly set.

NAME¶

distrobox create
distrobox-create
    

DESCRIPTION¶

distrobox-create takes care of creating the container with input name and image. The created container will be tightly integrated with the host, allowing sharing of the HOME directory of the user, external storage, external usb devices and graphical apps (X11/Wayland), and audio.

SYNOPSIS¶

distrobox create

--image/-i:     image to use for the container  default: registry.fedoraproject.org/fedora-toolbox:36
--name/-n:      name for the distrobox      default: my-distrobox
--pull/-p:      pull latest image unconditionally without asking
--yes/-Y:       non-interactive, pull images without asking
--root/-r:      launch podman/docker with root privileges. Note that if you need root this is the preferred


            way over "sudo distrobox" (note: if using a program other than 'sudo' for root privileges is necessary,


            specify it through the DBX_SUDO_PROGRAM env variable, or 'distrobox_sudo_program' config variable)
--clone/-c:     name of the distrobox container to use as base for a new container


            this will be useful to either rename an existing distrobox or have multiple copies


            of the same environment.
--home/-H       select a custom HOME directory for the container. Useful to avoid host's home littering with temp files.
--volume        additional volumes to add to the container
--additional-flags/-a:  additional flags to pass to the container manager command
--init-hooks        additional commands to execute during container initialization
--pre-init-hooks    additional commands to execute prior to container initialization
--init/-I       use init system (like systemd) inside the container.


            this will make host's processes not visible from within the container.
--compatibility/-C: show list of compatible images
--help/-h:      show this message
--no-entry:             do not generate a container entry in the application list
--dry-run/-d:       only print the container manager command generated
--verbose/-v:       show more verbosity
--version/-V:       show version
    

COMPATIBILITY¶

for a list of compatible images and container managers, please consult the man page:


    man distrobox


    man distrobox-compatibility
or consult the documentation page on: https://github.com/89luca89/distrobox/blob/main/docs/compatibility.md#containers-distros
    

EXAMPLES¶

distrobox create --image alpine:latest --name test --init-hooks "touch /var/tmp/test1 && touch /var/tmp/test2"
distrobox create --image fedora:35 --name test --additional-flags "--env MY_VAR-value"
distrobox create --image fedora:35 --name test --volume /opt/my-dir:/usr/local/my-dir:rw --additional-flags "--pids-limit -1"
distrobox create -i docker.io/almalinux/8-init --init --name test --pre-init-hooks "dnf config-manager --enable powertools && dnf -y install epel-release"
distrobox create --clone fedora-35 --name fedora-35-copy
distrobox create --image alpine my-alpine-container
distrobox create --image registry.fedoraproject.org/fedora-toolbox:35 --name fedora-toolbox-35
distrobox create --pull --image centos:stream9 --home ~/distrobox/centos9
    

You can also use environment variables to specify container name, image and container manager:

DBX_CONTAINER_MANAGER="docker" DBX_NON_INTERACTIVE=1 DBX_CONTAINER_NAME=test-alpine DBX_CONTAINER_IMAGE=alpine distrobox-create
    

Supported environment variables:

DBX_CONTAINER_ALWAYS_PULL
DBX_CONTAINER_CUSTOM_HOME
DBX_CONTAINER_HOME_PREFIX
DBX_CONTAINER_IMAGE
DBX_CONTAINER_MANAGER
DBX_CONTAINER_NAME
DBX_NON_INTERACTIVE
DBX_SUDO_PROGRAM
    

DBX_CONTAINER_HOME_PREFIX defines where containers’ home directories will be located. If you define it as ~/dbx then all future containers’ home directories will be ~/dbx/$container_name

The --additional-flags or -a is useful to modify defaults in the container creations. For example:

distrobox create -i docker.io/library/archlinux -n dev-arch
podman container inspect dev-arch | jq '.[0].HostConfig.PidsLimit'
2048
distrobox rm -f dev-arch
distrobox create -i docker.io/library/archlinux -n dev-arch --volume $CBL_TC:/tc --additional-flags "--pids-limit -1"
podman container inspect dev-arch | jq '.[0].HostConfig,.PidsLimit'
0
    

Additional volumes can be specified using the --volume flag. This flag follows the same standard as docker and podman to specify the mount point so --volume SOURCE_PATH:DEST_PATH:MODE.

distrobox create --image docker.io/library/archlinux --name dev-arch --volume /usr/share/:/var/test:ro
    

During container creation, it is possible to specify (using the additional-flags) some environment variables that will persist in the container and be independent from your environment:

distrobox create --image fedora:35 --name test --additional-flags "--env MY_VAR-value"
    

The --init-hooks is useful to add commands to the entrypoint (init) of the container. This could be useful to create containers with a set of programs already installed, add users, groups.

distrobox create  --image fedora:35 --name test --init-hooks "dnf groupinstall -y \"C Development Tools and Libraries\""
    

The --init is useful to create a container that will use its own separate init system within. For example using:

distrobox create -i docker.io/almalinux/8-init --init-hooks "dnf install -y openssh-server" --init --name test
    

Inside the container we will be able to use normal systemd units:

~$ distrobox enter test
user@test:~$ sudo systemctl enable --now sshd
user@test:~$ sudo systemctl status sshd


    ● sshd.service - OpenSSH server daemon


       Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/sshd.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)


       Active: active (running) since Fri 2022-01-28 22:54:50 CET; 17s ago


         Docs: man:sshd(8)


               man:sshd_config(5)


     Main PID: 291 (sshd)
    

Note that enabling --init will disable host’s process integration. From within the container you will not be able to see and manage host’s processes. This is needed because /sbin/init must be pid 1.

The --home flag let’s you specify a custom HOME for the container. Note that this will NOT prevent the mount of the host’s home directory, but will ensure that configs and dotfiles will not litter it.

From version 1.4.0 of distrobox, when you create a new container, it will also generate an entry in the applications list.

NAME¶

distrobox enter
distrobox-enter
    

DESCRIPTION¶

distrobox-enter takes care of entering the container with the name specified. Default command executed is your SHELL, but you can specify different shells or entire commands to execute. If using it inside a script, an application, or a service, you can specify the –headless mode to disable tty and interactivity.

SYNOPSIS¶

distrobox enter

--name/-n:      name for the distrobox                      default: my-distrobox
--/-e:          end arguments execute the rest as command to execute at login   default: bash -l
--no-tty/-T:        do not instantiate a tty
--no-workdir/-nw:       always start the container from container's home directory
--additional-flags/-a:  additional flags to pass to the container manager command
--help/-h:      show this message
--root/-r:      launch podman/docker with root privileges. Note that if you need root this is the preferred


            way over "sudo distrobox" (note: if using a program other than 'sudo' for root privileges is necessary,


            specify it through the DBX_SUDO_PROGRAM env variable, or 'distrobox_sudo_program' config variable)
--dry-run/-d:       only print the container manager command generated
--verbose/-v:       show more verbosity
--version/-V:       show version
    

EXAMPLES¶

distrobox-enter --name fedora-toolbox-35 -- bash -l
distrobox-enter my-alpine-container -- sh -l
distrobox-enter --additional-flags "--preserve-fds" --name test -- bash -l
distrobox-enter --additional-flags "--env MY_VAR=value" --name test -- bash -l
MY_VAR=value distrobox-enter --additional-flags "--preserve-fds" --name test -- bash -l
    

You can also use environment variables to specify container manager and container name:

DBX_CONTAINER_MANAGER="docker" DBX_CONTAINER_NAME=test-alpine distrobox-enter
    

Supported environment variables:

DBX_CONTAINER_NAME
DBX_CONTAINER_MANAGER
DBX_SKIP_WORKDIR
DBX_SUDO_PROGRAM
    

This is used to enter the distrobox itself. Personally, I just create multiple profiles in my gnome-terminal to have multiple distros accessible.

The --additional-flags or -a is useful to modify default command when executing in the container. For example:

distrobox enter -n dev-arch --additional-flags "--env my_var=test" -- printenv &| grep my_var
my_var=test
    

This is possible also using normal env variables:

my_var=test distrobox enter -n dev-arch --additional-flags -- printenv &| grep my_var
my_var=test
    

If you’d like to enter a rootful container having distrobox use a program other than `sudo' to run podman/docker as root, such as `pkexec' or `doas', you may specify it with the DBX_SUDO_PROGRAM environment variable. For example, to use `doas' to enter a rootful container:

DBX_SUDO_PROGRAM="doas" distrobox enter -n container --root
    

Additionally, in one of the config file paths that distrobox supports, such as ~/.distroboxrc, you can also append the line distrobox_sudo_program="doas" (for example) to always run distrobox commands involving rootful containers using `doas'.

NAME¶

distrobox ephemeral
distrobox-ephemeral
    

DESCRIPTION¶

distrobox-ephemeral creates a temporary distrobox that is automatically destroyed when the command is terminated.

SYNOPSIS¶

distrobox ephemeral

--root/-r:      launch podman/docker with root privileges. Note that if you need root this is the preferred


            way over "sudo distrobox" (note: if using a program other than 'sudo' for root privileges is necessary,


            specify it through the DBX_SUDO_PROGRAM env variable, or 'distrobox_sudo_program' config variable)
--verbose/-v:       show more verbosity
--help/-h:      show this message
--/-e:          end arguments execute the rest as command to execute at login   default: bash -l
--version/-V:       show version
    

EXAMPLES¶

distrobox-ephemeral --image alpine:latest -- cat /etc/os-release
distrobox-ephemeral --root --verbose --image alpine:latest --volume /opt:/opt
    

You can also use flags from distrobox-create to customize the ephemeral container to run.

Refer to

man distrobox-create
    

or

distrobox-create --help
    

Supported environment variables:

distrobox-ephemeral calls distrobox-create, SEE ALSO distrobox-create(1) for
a list of supported environment variables to use.
    

NAME¶

distrobox-export
    

DESCRIPTION¶

Application and service exporting

distrobox-export takes care of exporting an app a binary or a service from the container to the host.

The exported app will be easily available in your normal launcher and it will automatically be launched from the container it is exported from.

SYNOPSIS¶

distrobox-export

--app/-a:       name of the application to export
--bin/-b:       absolute path of the binary to export
--service/-s:       name of the service to export
--delete/-d:        delete exported application or service
--export-label/-el: label to add to exported application name.


            Defaults to (on \$container_name)
--export-path/-ep:  path where to export the binary
--extra-flags/-ef:  extra flags to add to the command
--sudo/-S:      specify if the exported item should be run as sudo
--help/-h:      show this message
--verbose/-v:       show more verbosity
--version/-V:       show version
    

You may want to install graphical applications or user services in your distrobox. Using distrobox-export from inside the container will let you use them from the host itself.

EXAMPLES¶

distrobox-export --app mpv [--extra-flags "flags"] [--delete] [--sudo]
distrobox-export --service syncthing [--extra-flags "flags"] [--delete] [--sudo]
distrobox-export --bin /path/to/bin --export-path ~/.local/bin [--extra-flags "flags"] [--delete] [--sudo]
    

App export example

distrobox-export --app abiword
    

This tool will simply copy the original .desktop files along with needed icons, add the prefix /usr/local/bin/distrobox-enter -n distrobox_name -e ... to the commands to run, and save them in your home to be used directly from the host as a normal app.

Service export example

distrobox-export --service syncthing --extra-flags "--allow-newer-config"
distrobox-export --service nginx --sudo
    

For services, it will similarly export the systemd unit inside the container to a systemctl --user service, prefixing the various ExecStart ExecStartPre ExecStartPost ExecReload ExecStop ExecStopPost with the distrobox-enter command prefix.

The exported services will be available in the host’s user’s systemd session, so

systemctl --user status exported_service_name
    

will show the status of the service exported.

Binary export example

distrobox-export --bin /usr/bin/code --extra-flags "--foreground" --export-path $HOME/.local/bin
    

In the case of exporting binaries, you will have to specify where to export it (--export-path) and the tool will create a little wrapper script that will distrobox-enter -e from the host, the desired binary. This can be handy with the use of direnv to have different versions of the same binary based on your env or project.

The exported binaries will be exported in the “–export-path” of choice as a wrapper script that acts naturally both on the host and in the container. Note that “–export-path” is NOT OPTIONAL, you have to explicitly set it.

Additional flags

You can specify additional flags to add to the command, for example if you want to export an electron app, you could add the “–foreground” flag to the command:

distrobox-export --app atom --extra-flags "--foreground"
distrobox-export --bin /usr/bin/vim --export-path ~/.local/bin --extra-flags "-p"
distrobox-export --service syncthing --extra-flags "-allow-newer-config"
    

This works for services, binaries, and apps. Extra flags are only used then the exported app, binary, or service is used from the host, using them inside the container will not include them.

Unexport

The option “–delete” will un-export an app, binary, or service.

distrobox-export --app atom --delete
distrobox-export --bin /usr/bin/vim --export-path ~/.local/bin --delete
distrobox-export --service syncthing --delete
distrobox-export --service nginx --delete
    

Run as root in the container

The option “–sudo” will launch the exported item as root inside the distrobox.

Exporting apps from rootful containers

It is worth noting that, when exporting any item - which includes graphical apps - from rootful containers (created with distrobox create --root), root privileges will be needed every time the item is launched (in order to enter the rootful container), which, by default, is done using sudo (see docs for distrobox-enter on how to customize that). However, for graphical apps in specific, since they launch without a terminal, the usage of sudo might, at first, make it impossible to launch them.

To fix this without needing to customize the sudo program, one can define a global SUDO_ASKPASS environment variable on their machine, which is a PATH to an executable that is run by sudo when no terminal is available (or when it is given the --askpass or -A option), and the output of that executable to stdout is used as the password input. The executable is called as many times is needed for authentication as root to succeed (unless a limit of amount of attempts is reached).

To do this, pick a program to ask the user for graphical password input. In this example, we will use zenity --password, which should be present for GNOME users (and can also be installed in other DEs) - there are other options, such as kdialog --password "Message" for KDE users.

Write the call to the desired program to a script file, for example to /usr/bin/my-password-prompt (sample contents below):

#!/bin/sh
zenity --password "Authentication as root is required"
    

(You may save the script under, for example, ~/.local/bin if you want to keep it fully local to your user.)

Afterwards, make it executable (e.g. run sudo chmod +x /usr/bin/my-password-prompt). Then, make sure to set SUDO_ASKPASS to "/usr/bin/my-password-prompt" (replace with your script’s path) in a global profile file, so that it is picked up by sudo when running graphical apps (and, therefore, sudo will run the script you created to ask for a password). This is done with the shell line export SUDO_ASKPASS="/path/to/script/goes/here". You can do this for your user only by running the command below (replace the script path as needed):

echo 'export SUDO_ASKPASS="/usr/bin/my-password-prompt"' >> ~/.profile
    

Which appends the appropriate line to the end of your ~/.profile file, thus making the change local to your user. Alternatively, to set it system-wide (for all users), you may create a file in /etc/profile.d/ (or equivalent for your system) with that line.

Now just log out and log back in, and graphical apps exported from rootful containers should now be properly asking for root’s password before launching (instead of not opening, if that was the case before).

Notes

Note you can use –app OR –bin OR –service but not together.

distrobox-export --service nginx --sudo
    

[IMAGE: app-export (https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/598882/144294795-c7785620-bf68-4d1b-b251-1e1f0a32a08d.png)]

[IMAGE: service-export (https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/598882/144294314-29a8921f-4511-453d-bf8e-d0d1e336db91.png)]

NOTE: some electron apps such as vscode and atom need additional flags to work from inside the container, use the --extra-flags option to provide a series of flags, for example:

distrobox-export --app atom --extra-flags "--foreground"

NAME¶

distrobox generate-entry
    

DESCRIPTION¶

distrobox-generate-entry will create a desktop icon for one of the available distroboxes. This will be then deleted when you remove the matching distrobox.

SYNOPSIS¶

distrobox generate-entry

    --help/-h:            show this message


    --all/-a:              perform for all distroboxes


    --delete/-d:            delete the entry


    --icon/-i:            specify a custom icon [/path/to/icon] (default auto)


    --verbose/-v:          show more verbosity


    --version/-V:          show version
    

EXAMPLES¶

distrobox-generate-entry container-name [--delete] [--icon [auto,/path/to/icon]]
    

NAME¶

distrobox-host-exec
    

DESCRIPTION¶

distrobox-host-exec lets one execute command on the host, while inside of a container.

Under the hood, distrobox-host-exec uses host-spawn a project that let’s us execute commands back on the host. If the tool is not found the user will be prompted to install it.

SYNOPSIS¶

Just pass to “distrobox-host-exec” any command and all its arguments, if any.

distrobox-host-exec [command [arguments]]
--help/-h:      show this message
--verbose/-v:       show more verbosity
--version/-V:       show version
    

If no command is provided, it will execute “$SHELL”.

Alternatively, use symlinks to make distrobox-host-exec execute as that command:

~$: ln -s /usr/bin/distrobox-host-exec /usr/local/bin/podman
~$: ls -l /usr/local/bin/podman
lrwxrwxrwx. 1 root root 51 Jul 11 19:26 /usr/local/bin/podman -> /usr/bin/distrobox-host-exec
~$: podman version
...this is executed on host...
    

EXAMPLES¶

distrobox-host-exec ls
distrobox-host-exec bash -l
distrobox-host-exec flatpak run org.mozilla.firefox
distrobox-host-exec podman ps -a
    

NAME¶

distrobox-init
    

DESCRIPTION¶

Init the distrobox (not to be launched manually)

distrobox-init is the entrypoint of a created distrobox. Note that this HAS to run from inside a distrobox, will not work if you run it from your host.

This is not intended to be used manually, but instead used by distrobox-create to set up the container’s entrypoint.

distrobox-init will take care of installing missing dependencies (eg. sudo), set up the user and groups, mount directories from the host to ensure the tight integration.

SYNOPSIS¶

distrobox-init

--name/-n:      user name
--user/-u:      uid of the user
--group/-g:     gid of the user
--home/-d:      path/to/home of the user
--help/-h:      show this message
--init/-I:      whether to use or not init
--pre-init-hooks:   commands to execute prior to init
--upgrade/-U:       run init in upgrade mode
--verbose/-v:       show more verbosity
--version/-V:       show version
--:         end arguments execute the rest as command to execute during init
    

EXAMPLES¶

distrobox-init --name test-user --user 1000 --group 1000 --home /home/test-user
distrobox-init --upgrade
    

NAME¶

distrobox list
distrobox-list
    

DESCRIPTION¶

distrobox-list lists available distroboxes. It detects them and lists them separately from the rest of normal podman or docker containers.

SYNOPSIS¶

distrobox list

--help/-h:      show this message
--no-color:     disable color formatting
--root/-r:      launch podman/docker with root privileges. Note that if you need root this is the preferred


            way over "sudo distrobox" (note: if using a program other than 'sudo' for root privileges is necessary,


            specify it through the DBX_SUDO_PROGRAM env variable, or 'distrobox_sudo_program' config variable)
--size/-s:      show also container size
--verbose/-v:       show more verbosity
--version/-V:       show version
    

EXAMPLES¶

distrobox-list
    

You can also use environment variables to specify container manager

DBX_CONTAINER_MANAGER="docker" distrobox-list
    

Supported environment variables:

DBX_CONTAINER_MANAGER
DBX_SUDO_PROGRAM
    

[IMAGE: image (https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/598882/147831082-24b5bc2e-b47e-49ac-9b1a-a209478c9705.png)]

NAME¶

distrobox rm
distrobox-rm
    

DESCRIPTION¶

distrobox-rm delete one of the available distroboxes.

SYNOPSIS¶

distrobox rm

--name/-n:      name for the distrobox
--force/-f:     force deletion
--rm-home:      remove the mounted home if it differs from the host user's one
--root/-r:      launch podman/docker with root privileges. Note that if you need root this is the preferred


            way over "sudo distrobox" (note: if using a program other than 'sudo' for root privileges is necessary,


            specify it through the DBX_SUDO_PROGRAM env variable, or 'distrobox_sudo_program' config variable)
--help/-h:      show this message
--verbose/-v:       show more verbosity
--version/-V:       show version
    

EXAMPLES¶

distrobox-rm --name container-name [--force]
distrobox-rm container-name [-f]
    

You can also use environment variables to specify container manager and name:

DBX_CONTAINER_MANAGER="docker" DBX_CONTAINER_NAME=test-alpine distrobox-rm
    

Supported environment variables:

DBX_CONTAINER_MANAGER
DBX_CONTAINER_NAME
DBX_NON_INTERACTIVE
DBX_SUDO_PROGRAM
    

NAME¶

distrobox stop
distrobox-stop
    

DESCRIPTION¶

distrobox-stop stop a running distrobox.

Distroboxes are left running, even after exiting out of them, so that subsequent enters are really quick. This is how they can be stopped.

SYNOPSIS¶

distrobox stop

--name/-n:      name for the distrobox
--yes/-Y:       non-interactive, stop without asking
--help/-h:      show this message
--root/-r:      launch podman/docker with root privileges. Note that if you need root this is the preferred


            way over "sudo distrobox" (note: if using a program other than 'sudo' for root privileges is necessary,


            specify it through the DBX_SUDO_PROGRAM env variable, or 'distrobox_sudo_program' config variable)
--verbose/-v:       show more verbosity
--version/-V:       show version
    

EXAMPLES¶

distrobox-stop --name container-name
distrobox-stop container-name
    

You can also use environment variables to specify container manager and name:

DBX_CONTAINER_MANAGER="docker" DBX_CONTAINER_NAME=test-alpine distrobox-stop
    

Supported environment variables:

DBX_CONTAINER_MANAGER
DBX_CONTAINER_NAME
DBX_NON_INTERACTIVE
DBX_SUDO_PROGRAM
    

NAME¶

distrobox-upgrade
    

DESCRIPTION¶

distrobox-upgrade will enter the specified list of containers and will perform an upgrade using the container’s package manager.

SYNOPSIS¶

distrobox upgrade

--help/-h:      show this message
--all/-a:       perform for all distroboxes
--verbose/-v:       show more verbosity
--version/-V:       show version
    

EXAMPLES¶

distrobox-upgrade --all
distrobox-upgrade alpine-linux ubuntu22 my-distrobox123
distrobox upgrade CONTAINER_NAME [CONTAINER_NAME1 CONTAINER_NAME2 ...]