nixos-containers are based on systemd-nspawn and can be managed by:
machinectl listClassically they are defined in the configuration of the host, however there are several ways to define them independent of the host's configuration:
nixos-container --flake .#demo create demo
nixos-container --flake .#demo update demo- nice to quickly start a container from a flake with nixosConfigurations
- however doesn't manage the network setup
- requires different commands for create and update
extra-container is a usefull tool in nixpkgs, allowing to configure several containers with networking.
However it doesn't (yet) support controlling only a subset of the defined containers from the given file.
extra-container create nix/containers.nixFlake support of extra-container.
nix run .#buildContainers -- createOf of the box it only works to manage all defined containers…
… is provided by the flake of this repo.
This wrapper around extra-container buildContainers allows managing of single containers.
nix run .#buildContainer_demo -- create| machinectl | nixos-container | extra-container | buildContainers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| list | ++ | |||
| start | ++ | |||
| poweroff | ++ | |||
| create | + | ++ | ++ | |
| update | + | ++ | ++ | |
| create or update | - | ++ | ++ | |
| network config | (imperativ) | + | + | |
| flake | ++ | + | ||
| single container | ++ | - | (implemented in this flake) | |
| multiple containers | + | + | ||
| config format | nixosConfiguration | containers-config | buildContainers(containers-config) |
Some demo setups and more detailed instructions about recommended usage.