crun

Run a container from OCI bundle

$ crun run [container_id]

$ crun create [container_id]

$ crun start [container_id]

$ crun list

$ crun exec [container_id] [command]

$ crun delete [container_id]

$ crun state [container_id]

crun [global-options] command [command-options] [arguments]

crun is a fast and low-memory footprint OCI container runtime written in C. It is fully compatible with the OCI (Open Container Initiative) runtime specification and can be used as a drop-in replacement for runc.
crun implements all required OCI runtime operations including container creation, execution, and lifecycle management. It supports Linux namespaces, cgroups v1 and v2, seccomp, and other container isolation features.
The runtime is designed to be lightweight and efficient, with significantly faster startup times and lower memory usage compared to Go-based runtimes. It's used by container engines like Podman and Buildah.

run ID

Create and start a container from an OCI bundle.

Create a container but don't start it.

Start a previously created container.

Execute a command in a running container.

Delete a container.

Send a signal to the container's init process.

List containers.

Output the state of a container.

Create a new OCI bundle specification.

Root directory for container state.

Requires root privileges or appropriate user namespace configuration. OCI bundle must be properly configured with config.json and rootfs. crun operates on OCI bundles, not container images directly.

crun was developed by Giuseppe Scrivano at Red Hat as a faster alternative to runc. First released around 2019, it gained adoption due to its performance benefits. It became the default runtime for Podman and is supported by Kubernetes through CRI-O.

runc(1), podman(1), containerd(1), docker(1)