apptainer-inspect
Display metadata from container images.
TLDR
Show an image's labels, which is the default
$ apptainer inspect [path/to/image.sif]
Show the definition file it was built from$ apptainer inspect --deffile [path/to/image.sif]
Show the runscript that `apptainer run` executes$ apptainer inspect --runscript [path/to/image.sif]
Show the startscript that instances use$ apptainer inspect --startscript [path/to/image.sif]
Show the environment baked into the image$ apptainer inspect --environment [path/to/image.sif]
Show the definition's %test section$ apptainer inspect --test [path/to/image.sif]
Show the help text the author shipped$ apptainer inspect --helpfile [path/to/image.sif]
List the apps the image provides$ apptainer inspect --list-apps [path/to/image.sif]
Inspect one app rather than the image as a whole$ apptainer inspect --app [app_name] --runscript [path/to/image.sif]
Dump everything the image records$ apptainer inspect --all [path/to/image.sif]
Emit JSON for a script to parse$ apptainer inspect --json --labels [path/to/image.sif]
SYNOPSIS
apptainer inspect [inspect options...] imagepath_
DESCRIPTION
apptainer inspect displays metadata embedded in Apptainer container images. This includes labels, the definition file used to build the container, runscripts, environment settings, and information about bundled apps.The metadata provides valuable information for understanding container provenance, reproducibility, and intended usage.
PARAMETERS
-l, --labels
Show the labels for the image (default behavior)-d, --deffile
Display the definition file used to build the container-r, --runscript
Display the container's runscript-s, --startscript
Display the startscript for the image-t, --test
Display the test script for the image-e, --environment
Display environment variables set in the container-H, --helpfile
Display the runscript helpfile, if it exists--app name
Inspect a specific SCIF application within the container--list-apps
List all SCIF apps installed in the container--all
Display all available metadata (implies --json)-j, --json
Output results in JSON format
INSTALL
sudo dnf install apptainer
sudo pacman -S apptainer
sudo apk add apptainer
sudo zypper install apptainer
brew install apptainer
nix profile install nixpkgs#apptainer
SEE ALSO
apptainer(1), apptainer-build(1), apptainer-run(1), apptainer-exec(1)
