NAME

       toolbox-init-container - Initialize a running container

SYNOPSIS

       toolbox init-container --gid GID
                              --home HOME
                              --home-link
                              --media-link
                              --mnt-link
                              --monitor-host
                              --shell SHELL
                              --uid UID
                              --user USER

DESCRIPTION

       Initializes  a newly created container that's running. It is primarily meant to be used as
       the entry point for all toolbox containers, and must be run inside the container that's to
       be initialized. It is not expected to be directly invoked by humans, and cannot be used on
       the host.

       A key feature of toolbox containers is  their  entry  point,  the  toolbox  init-container
       command.

       OCI  containers  are  inherently  immutable.  Configuration  options passed through podman
       create are baked into the definition of the OCI container, and  can't  be  changed  later.
       This  means  that  changes  and  improvements  made  in newer versions of Toolbox can't be
       applied to pre-existing toolbox containers created by older versions of Toolbox.  This  is
       avoided by using the entry point to configure the container at runtime.

       The entry point of a toolbox container customizes the container to fit the current user by
       ensuring that it has a user that matches the one on the host, and grants it sudo and  root
       access.

       Crucial   configuration   files,   such  as  /etc/host.conf,  /etc/hosts,  /etc/localtime,
       /etc/resolv.conf and /etc/timezone, inside the container are kept  synchronized  with  the
       host.  The entry point also bind mounts various subsets of the host's filesystem hierarchy
       to their corresponding locations inside the container to provide seamless integration with
       the    host.    This    includes   /run/libvirt,   /run/systemd/journal,   /run/udev/data,
       /var/lib/libvirt, /var/lib/systemd/coredump, /var/log/journal and others.

       On some host operating systems, important paths like /home, /media or  /mnt  are  symbolic
       links  to  other  locations. The entry point ensures that paths inside the container match
       those on the host, to avoid needless confusion.

OPTIONS

       The following options are understood:

       --gid GID

       Pass GID as the user's numerical group ID from the host to the toolbox container.

       --home HOME

       Create a user inside the toolbox container whose login directory is HOME. This  option  is
       required.

       --home-link

       Make /home a symbolic link to /var/home.

       --media-link

       Make /media a symbolic link to /run/media.

       --mnt-link

       Make /mnt a symbolic link to /var/mnt.

       --monitor-host

       Ensures   that   certain  configuration  files  inside  the  toolbox  container  are  kept
       synchronized with their counterparts on the host, and bind  mounts  some  paths  from  the
       host's file system into the container.

       The synchronized files are:

              • /etc/host.conf

              • /etc/hosts

              • /etc/localtime

              • /etc/resolv.conf

              • /etc/timezone

       The bind mounted paths are:

              • /etc/machine-id

              • /run/libvirt

              • /run/systemd/journal

              • /run/systemd/resolve

              • /run/udev/data

              • /tmp

              • /var/lib/flatpak

              • /var/lib/libvirt

              • /var/lib/systemd/coredump

              • /var/log/journal

              • /var/mnt

       --shell SHELL

       Create  a  user  inside  the  toolbox container whose login shell is SHELL. This option is
       required.

       --uid UID

       Create a user inside the toolbox container whose numerical user ID is UID. This option  is
       required.

       --user USER

       Create  a  user  inside  the  toolbox  container whose login name is LOGIN. This option is
       required.

SEE ALSO

       toolbox(1), podman(1), podman-create(1), podman-start(1)

                                                                        toolbox-init-container(1)