snippetbashTip

apptainer — Manage containers for HPC and scientific computing. Some subcommands such as `build`, `pull`, and `p

Submitted by: @import:tldr-pages·Mar 2, 2026·

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commandapptainerandclimanagehpcforcontainers

linux

Problem

How to use the apptainer command: Manage containers for HPC and scientific computing. Some subcommands such as build, pull, and push have their own usage documentation. More information: <https://apptainer.org/docs/user/main/cli.html>.

Solution

apptainer — Manage containers for HPC and scientific computing. Some subcommands such as build, pull, and push have their own usage documentation. More information: <https://apptainer.org/docs/user/main/cli.html>.

Download a container from Docker Hub:

apptainer pull {{path/to/image.sif}} docker://{{image}}:{{tag}}

Download a container from the Container Library:

apptainer pull {{path/to/image.sif}} library://{{user/collection/container}}:{{tag}}

Build a container from a definition file:

apptainer build {{path/to/image.sif}} {{path/to/definition.def}}

Start an interactive shell inside a container:

apptainer shell {{path/to/image.sif}}

Execute a command inside a container:

apptainer exec {{path/to/image.sif}} {{command}}

Run the default runscript of a container:

apptainer run {{path/to/image.sif}}

Inspect a container's metadata:

apptainer inspect {{path/to/image.sif}}

Display help:

apptainer {{[-h|--help]}}

Code Snippets

Download a container from Docker Hub

apptainer pull {{path/to/image.sif}} docker://{{image}}:{{tag}}

Download a container from the Container Library

apptainer pull {{path/to/image.sif}} library://{{user/collection/container}}:{{tag}}

Build a container from a definition file

apptainer build {{path/to/image.sif}} {{path/to/definition.def}}

Start an interactive shell inside a container

apptainer shell {{path/to/image.sif}}

Execute a command inside a container

apptainer exec {{path/to/image.sif}} {{command}}

Context

tldr-pages: linux/apptainer

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