Skip to content

Add user guide for running containers with rootless podman - #14

Open
Tianhao-Gu wants to merge 1 commit into
mainfrom
podman-guide
Open

Add user guide for running containers with rootless podman#14
Tianhao-Gu wants to merge 1 commit into
mainfrom
podman-guide

Conversation

@Tianhao-Gu

Copy link
Copy Markdown
Contributor

Adds a user guide covering how to run lightweight container images rootlessly inside a BERDL notebook, what differs from Docker on a laptop, and how to troubleshoot.

Copilot AI lite review requested due to automatic review settings August 28, 2026 20:01

Copilot AI left a comment

Copy link
Copy Markdown

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Pull request overview

Adds a new BERDL user guide explaining how to run lightweight, rootless Podman containers inside notebook pods (including limitations vs. Docker-on-laptop), and links it from the main docs index.

Changes:

  • Introduces a new podman_guide.md with quick-start examples, operational constraints, and troubleshooting guidance.
  • Updates the top-level README to include the new Podman guide in the User Guides table.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 2 out of 2 changed files in this pull request and generated 2 comments.

File Description
user_guides/podman_guide.md New user guide documenting rootless Podman usage in BERDL notebooks, plus troubleshooting and reference notes.
README.md Adds the new Podman guide to the User Guides index table.
Suppressed comments (1)

user_guides/podman_guide.md:122

  • The reference note says setup includes subordinate IDs, but earlier the guide says the common/expected warning is that no subuid ranges are found. Consider softening this reference bullet so it’s accurate across environments where subuids are not configured.
- Setup happens at pod boot in `before-notebook.d/15-podman-setup.sh`
  (subordinate IDs, `XDG_RUNTIME_DIR`, the `/proc` bind-mount default, the
  feasibility check that sets `BERDL_PODMAN_STATUS`).

💡 Add a code-review agent skill or configure MCP servers for context-aware, tailored reviews. Learn more in the docs.

Comment on lines +84 to +86
**`/proc` is the pod's.** Containers still get their own PID namespace, but `ps`
inside one lists the notebook pod's processes too. Nothing else leaks in: the
container's filesystem view is just the image plus what you `-v` mount.
Comment on lines +55 to +57
- The first `podman` command of a session prints
`no subuid ranges found ... Using rootless single mapping` — that is expected (see
below) and does not repeat. A `"/" is not a shared mount` warning is also harmless.
Sign up for free to join this conversation on GitHub. Already have an account? Sign in to comment

Labels

None yet

Projects

None yet

Development

Successfully merging this pull request may close these issues.

2 participants