runc

Low-level OCI container runtime

TLDR

Run container

$ runc run [container-id]

Create container

$ runc create [container-id]

Start container

$ runc start [container-id]

List containers

$ runc list

Kill container

$ runc kill [container-id]

Delete container

$ runc delete [container-id]

Execute command in running container

$ runc exec [container-id] [command]

Show container state

$ runc state [container-id]

Generate OCI spec file

$ runc spec

Show processes running in container

$ runc ps [container-id]

SYNOPSIS

runc [options] command [args...]

runc is a CLI tool for spawning and running containers according to the OCI specification. It's the reference implementation of the Open Container Initiative runtime specification.The tool provides low-level container runtime functionality, used by Docker, containerd, and other container platforms.

PARAMETERS

run id

Create and start container.

create id

Create container.

start id

Start created container.

list

List containers.

state id

Output container state.

kill id [signal]

Send signal to container.

delete id

Delete container.

exec id cmd

Execute new process inside container.

pause id

Suspend all processes inside container.

resume id

Resume previously paused processes.

ps id

Show processes running inside container.

events id

Display container events (OOM, CPU, memory, I/O stats).

update id

Update container resource constraints.

checkpoint id

Checkpoint a running container.

restore id

Restore container from a previous checkpoint.

spec

Generate new OCI spec file (config.json).

--root dir

Root directory for container state storage (should be on tmpfs).

--debug

Enable debug logging.

--log path

Set log file path (default: stderr).

--log-format text|json

Set log format (default: text).

--systemd-cgroup

Enable systemd cgroup support.

--rootless true|false|auto

Enable or disable rootless mode (default: auto).

INSTALL

sudo apt install runc

sudo dnf install runc

sudo pacman -S runc

sudo apk add runc

sudo zypper install runc

brew install runc

nix profile install nixpkgs#runc

CAVEATS

Requires OCI bundle. Low-level tool - usually not used directly. Needs root for full functionality. Container must be configured properly.

HISTORY

runc was developed as part of the Open Container Initiative (OCI) by Docker and others in 2015. It standardized container runtime behavior, enabling interoperability between container platforms.