RFC: Add support for Podman as container engine alternative to Docker#8660
RFC: Add support for Podman as container engine alternative to Docker#8660tmshlvck wants to merge 2 commits intoarmbian:mainfrom
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WalkthroughAdds runtime detection and abstraction for the container engine in Changes
Sequence Diagram(s)sequenceDiagram
participant Init as Init script
participant Detect as runtime detector
participant Engine as Container engine (docker/podman)
participant Runner as Container runner actions
Init->>Detect: call detect_docker_info()
Detect-->>Init: set DOCKER_COMMAND, DOCKER_NETWORK, DOCKER_MOUNT_OPTS (readonly)
alt Docker selected
Init->>Engine: run `docker info` via $DOCKER_COMMAND
else Podman selected
Init->>Engine: run `sudo podman info` via $DOCKER_COMMAND
end
Note over Init,Runner: Subsequent operations use $DOCKER_COMMAND and DOCKER_* settings
Init->>Runner: image pull/list, build, launch, purge, mount with DOCKER_MOUNT_OPTS
Runner->>Engine: execute container operations using $DOCKER_COMMAND and DOCKER_NETWORK
Engine-->>Runner: return status/results
Estimated code review effort🎯 3 (Moderate) | ⏱️ ~25 minutes Potential review focal points:
Suggested reviewers
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Pre-merge checks and finishing touches❌ Failed checks (1 warning)
✅ Passed checks (2 passed)
✨ Finishing touches
🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)
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🧬 Code graph analysis (1)lib/functions/host/docker.sh (2)
🔇 Additional comments (6)
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Actionable comments posted: 2
🧹 Nitpick comments (1)
lib/functions/host/docker.sh (1)
63-63: Guard against sudo prompts during readiness.
If sudo requires a TTY/password,$DOCKER_COMMAND infocan hang. Thesudo -ntweak above prevents this; alternatively, detect sudo -n support up front and surface a clear error.
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lib/functions/host/docker.sh(9 hunks)
🔇 Additional comments (6)
lib/functions/host/docker.sh (6)
50-60: Confirm downstream expectations for DOCKER_IN_PATH.You set DOCKER_IN_PATH="yes" only when docker is present; for Podman it remains "no". If other modules gate behavior on DOCKER_IN_PATH, Podman runs may be misclassified. Consider either setting DOCKER_IN_PATH="yes" for Podman as well or introducing a neutral ENGINE_IN_PATH flag.
89-91: Good readiness broadening to accept either engine.
This check now correctly allows Docker or Podman in PATH. LGTM.
339-356: Build/pull paths look compatible across engines.
images -qandbuild -t -fmap well to both Docker and Podman. No issues spotted.Also applies to: 376-377
601-602: Engine-conditional host networking is wired correctly.
Using DOCKER_NETWORK only when set cleanly applies host networking for Podman without impacting Docker.Also applies to: 607-608
639-641: Volume purge switched to dynamic engine correctly.
Using$DOCKER_COMMAND volume …aligns with the abstraction.
45-60: Stop treating the runtime command as a single string; add non-interactive sudo and root detection for Podman.File: lib/functions/host/docker.sh (around lines 45-60; also apply to the other Podman handling at ~71-74)
- Reason: "sudo podman" as a single scalar breaks safe argument splitting and can hang on password prompts; prefer skipping sudo when already root and use non-interactive sudo (-n) otherwise.
- elif [[ -n "$(command -v podman)" ]]; then - DOCKER_COMMAND="sudo podman" - DOCKER_NETWORK="--network host" - DOCKER_MOUNT_OPTS=",suid,dev" # Required mount options for Podman - display_alert "Podman detected" "Using Podman with sudo (required for Armbian builds)" "info" + elif [[ -n "$(command -v podman)" ]]; then + if [[ $EUID -eq 0 ]]; then + DOCKER_COMMAND="podman" + else + DOCKER_COMMAND="sudo -n podman" # non-interactive to avoid hanging on readiness checks + fi + DOCKER_NETWORK="--network host" + # For --mount, supply a plain options list; used later as options=${DOCKER_MOUNT_OPTS} + DOCKER_MOUNT_OPTS="rw,dev,suid" + display_alert "Podman detected" "Using Podman ($([[ $EUID -eq 0 ]] && echo 'root' || echo 'sudo -n'))" "info"
- Optional: refactor DOCKER_COMMAND into an array and invoke as "${DOCKER_COMMAND[@]}" everywhere to avoid future word-splitting issues.
lib/functions/host/docker.sh
Outdated
| set -- "$DOCKER_COMMAND" "$@" | ||
| fi |
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Don’t quote
set -- "$DOCKER_COMMAND" "$@" turns "sudo podman" into one token, causing command-not-found later. Allow intended splitting or (better) switch DOCKER_COMMAND to an array.
Minimal fix:
- set -- "$DOCKER_COMMAND" "$@"
+ # shellcheck disable=SC2086 # intentional word splitting for DOCKER_COMMAND
+ set -- $DOCKER_COMMAND "$@"Apply to both occurrences in this function.
Also applies to: 125-126
🤖 Prompt for AI Agents
In lib/functions/host/docker.sh around lines 117-118 (and also update the
similar occurrence at 125-126), the code uses set -- "$DOCKER_COMMAND" "$@"
which quotes the whole DOCKER_COMMAND string into a single argv (e.g. "sudo
podman") causing later command-not-found; fix by either unquoting to allow
word-splitting if DOCKER_COMMAND is a plain string: set -- $DOCKER_COMMAND "$@"
; or, preferably, change DOCKER_COMMAND to an array and use safe array
expansion: set -- "${DOCKER_COMMAND[@]}" "$@"; apply the same change to both
occurrences.
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Yes, v2 patch will be submitted.
lib/functions/host/docker.sh
Outdated
| DOCKER_ARGS+=("--mount" "type=volume,destination=${DOCKER_ARMBIAN_TARGET_PATH}/${MOUNT_DIR}${DOCKER_MOUNT_OPTS}") | ||
| ;; | ||
| bind) | ||
| display_alert "Mounting" "bind mount for '${MOUNT_DIR}'" "debug" | ||
| mkdir -p "${SRC}/${MOUNT_DIR}" | ||
| DOCKER_ARGS+=("--mount" "type=bind,source=${SRC}/${MOUNT_DIR},target=${DOCKER_ARMBIAN_TARGET_PATH}/${MOUNT_DIR}") | ||
| DOCKER_ARGS+=("--mount" "type=bind,source=${SRC}/${MOUNT_DIR},target=${DOCKER_ARMBIAN_TARGET_PATH}/${MOUNT_DIR}${DOCKER_MOUNT_OPTS}") | ||
| ;; | ||
| namedvolume) | ||
| display_alert "Mounting" "named volume id '${volume_id}' for '${MOUNT_DIR}'" "debug" | ||
| DOCKER_ARGS+=("--mount" "type=volume,source=armbian-${volume_id},destination=${DOCKER_ARMBIAN_TARGET_PATH}/${MOUNT_DIR}") | ||
| DOCKER_ARGS+=("--mount" "type=volume,source=armbian-${volume_id},destination=${DOCKER_ARMBIAN_TARGET_PATH}/${MOUNT_DIR}${DOCKER_MOUNT_OPTS}") | ||
| ;; |
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🛠️ Refactor suggestion
❓ Verification inconclusive
Fix invalid --mount syntax; pass options via options=… instead of appending raw flags to destination.
Appending ",suid,dev" after destination=… is not a valid key=value pair for Docker/Podman --mount. Use options=… so both engines parse mount flags correctly.
Apply this diff:
- DOCKER_ARGS+=("--mount" "type=volume,destination=${DOCKER_ARMBIAN_TARGET_PATH}/${MOUNT_DIR}${DOCKER_MOUNT_OPTS}")
+ DOCKER_ARGS+=("--mount" "type=volume,destination=${DOCKER_ARMBIAN_TARGET_PATH}/${MOUNT_DIR}${DOCKER_MOUNT_OPTS:+,options=${DOCKER_MOUNT_OPTS}}")
...
- DOCKER_ARGS+=("--mount" "type=bind,source=${SRC}/${MOUNT_DIR},target=${DOCKER_ARMBIAN_TARGET_PATH}/${MOUNT_DIR}${DOCKER_MOUNT_OPTS}")
+ DOCKER_ARGS+=("--mount" "type=bind,source=${SRC}/${MOUNT_DIR},target=${DOCKER_ARMBIAN_TARGET_PATH}/${MOUNT_DIR}${DOCKER_MOUNT_OPTS:+,options=${DOCKER_MOUNT_OPTS}}")
...
- DOCKER_ARGS+=("--mount" "type=volume,source=armbian-${volume_id},destination=${DOCKER_ARMBIAN_TARGET_PATH}/${MOUNT_DIR}${DOCKER_MOUNT_OPTS}")
+ DOCKER_ARGS+=("--mount" "type=volume,source=armbian-${volume_id},destination=${DOCKER_ARMBIAN_TARGET_PATH}/${MOUNT_DIR}${DOCKER_MOUNT_OPTS:+,options=${DOCKER_MOUNT_OPTS}}")Fix invalid --mount syntax; pass options via options=… instead of appending raw flags to destination.
Appending ",suid,dev" (or similar) after destination=… is not a valid key=value pair for Docker/Podman --mount. Use options=… so both engines parse mount flags correctly.
Apply this diff:
- DOCKER_ARGS+=("--mount" "type=volume,destination=${DOCKER_ARMBIAN_TARGET_PATH}/${MOUNT_DIR}${DOCKER_MOUNT_OPTS}")
+ DOCKER_ARGS+=("--mount" "type=volume,destination=${DOCKER_ARMBIAN_TARGET_PATH}/${MOUNT_DIR}${DOCKER_MOUNT_OPTS:+,options=${DOCKER_MOUNT_OPTS}}")
...
- DOCKER_ARGS+=("--mount" "type=bind,source=${SRC}/${MOUNT_DIR},target=${DOCKER_ARMBIAN_TARGET_PATH}/${MOUNT_DIR}${DOCKER_MOUNT_OPTS}")
+ DOCKER_ARGS+=("--mount" "type=bind,source=${SRC}/${MOUNT_DIR},target=${DOCKER_ARMBIAN_TARGET_PATH}/${MOUNT_DIR}${DOCKER_MOUNT_OPTS:+,options=${DOCKER_MOUNT_OPTS}}")
...
- DOCKER_ARGS+=("--mount" "type=volume,source=armbian-${volume_id},destination=${DOCKER_ARMBIAN_TARGET_PATH}/${MOUNT_DIR}${DOCKER_MOUNT_OPTS}")
+ DOCKER_ARGS+=("--mount" "type=volume,source=armbian-${volume_id},destination=${DOCKER_ARMBIAN_TARGET_PATH}/${MOUNT_DIR}${DOCKER_MOUNT_OPTS:+,options=${DOCKER_MOUNT_OPTS}}")Committable suggestion skipped: line range outside the PR's diff.
🤖 Prompt for AI Agents
In lib/functions/host/docker.sh around lines 519-529, the --mount invocations
append raw mount flags to the destination (destination=...${DOCKER_MOUNT_OPTS})
which is invalid; change them to use options=... instead. For each
DOCKER_ARGS+=("--mount"
"...destination=${DOCKER_ARMBIAN_TARGET_PATH}/${MOUNT_DIR}${DOCKER_MOUNT_OPTS}")
line, split DOCKER_MOUNT_OPTS into an options clause (strip any leading comma)
and append ,options=${OPTIONS} to the --mount string (omit the options= part
entirely when DOCKER_MOUNT_OPTS is empty), e.g.
destination=.../${MOUNT_DIR}[,options=${DOCKER_MOUNT_OPTS_STRIPPED}]; apply this
for volume, bind and namedvolume cases so Docker/Podman parse mount flags
correctly.
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The DOCKER_MOUNT_OPTS is set at podman detection to the required flags or kept empty for docker. There should be no potential for mixing the flags with docker.
igorpecovnik
added
02
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I'd review this if it also added Also, adding an extension that creates VM images running Podman so this can be tested would be awesome (similar to |
This RFC implements Podman support for Armbian builds to address mounting issues experienced with Podman while maintaining Docker compatibility. Key changes: - Auto-detect container engine: prefers Docker, falls back to Podman - Use sudo with Podman (runs in root mode - not more secure than Docker) - Add required mount options (suid,dev) and --network host for Podman - Update all docker commands to use dynamic DOCKER_COMMAND variable - Add hint for Fedora to install binfmt dependencies - Updated README.md Technical notes: - Podman runs with sudo/root privileges, so security model matches Docker - Requires sudo access when using Podman (security consideration) - Solves Podman-specific mount permission and networking issues - Maintains full backward compatibility with existing Docker workflows - May need documentation updates
- Add --network=host for podman-docker shim detection (not just standalone podman) - Add --network=host to docker build command for Podman compatibility - Fix relaunch command to use 'build' instead of 'docker' inside container Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
4 participants
Description
There were multiple requests for podman support:
Since rootless podman support is probably intractable at this point I am suggesting the basic support in rootful mode.
This RFC implements Podman support for Armbian builds to address mounting issues experienced with Podman while maintaining Docker compatibility.
Key changes:
Technical notes:
Documentation summary for feature / change
I believe that if this gets merged we could mention podman support as a note to the docker requirements.
How Has This Been Tested?
Checklist:
Summary by CodeRabbit
Release Notes