How to install Podman on Ubuntu 20.04?

Overview

Podman is a container engine that provides a way to manage containers on Linux-based systems. It is an alternative to Docker and provides a lightweight, daemon-less approach to container management. Podman allows users to run containers without requiring root privileges, making it more secure and suitable for multi-tenant environments. Additionally, Podman supports the Open Container Initiative (OCI) and Kubernetes Container Runtime Interface (CRI-O), making it a good choice for running containers in a Kubernetes environment.

Prerequisites

There are certain prerequisites that need to be met before you begin.

  • Ubuntu 20.04-equipped system

  • A sudo-privileged user account

  • Internet connection

  • Knowledge of CLI

Get Started

Step 1: Add the Kubic repository, which provides additional packages for the Podman container engine, by running the following command in the terminal:

. /etc/os-release
sudo sh -c "echo 'deb http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/devel:/kubic:/libcontainers:/stable/xUbuntu_${VERSION_ID}/ /' > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/devel:kubic:libcontainers:stable.list"

Step 2: Add the GPG key and verify the package integrity:

wget -nv https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/devel:kubic:libcontainers:stable/xUbuntu_${VERSION_ID}/Release.key -O- | sudo apt-key add -

Step 3: Update the package list:

sudo apt update

Step 4: To install Podman use the following command:

sudo apt -y install podman

Step 5: Verify that Podman is installed and running:

podman --version

Conclusion

Podman is a powerful and versatile container engine that provides an alternative to Docker for container management on Linux-based systems. It offers many benefits such as a lightweight and daemon-less approach, support for OCI and CRI-O, and the ability to run containers without requiring root privileges. Podman is also backed by a strong community of developers and has gained significant adoption in the industry. If you are looking for a container engine that is secure, scalable, and easy to use, then Podman is definitely worth considering.

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