podman-run

Create and start containers from images

TLDR

Run a container

$ podman run [image]

Run interactively

$ podman run -it [image] [/bin/bash]

Run in background

$ podman run -d [image]

Run with port mapping

$ podman run -p [8080:80] [image]

Run with volume mount

$ podman run -v [/host/path:/container/path] [image]

Run with name

$ podman run --name [mycontainer] [image]

Run with environment variable

$ podman run -e [VAR=value] [image]

Run and auto-remove on exit

$ podman run --rm -it [image] [command]

Run with custom network

$ podman run --network [network_name] [image]

SYNOPSIS

podman run [options] image [command]

podman run creates and starts a new container from a specified image. It is the primary command for launching containers, supporting interactive sessions (-it), background execution (-d), port mapping (-p), volume mounts (-v), and environment variables (-e).The --rm flag automatically removes the container when it exits. The --name option assigns a human-readable name. By default, Podman runs containers rootlessly without requiring a daemon, making it a drop-in replacement for docker run.

PARAMETERS

IMAGE

Container image.

-it

Interactive terminal.

-d, --detach

Run in background.

-p, --publish PORT

Port mapping.

-v, --volume MOUNT

Volume mount.

--name NAME

Container name.

-e, --env VAR

Environment variable.

--rm

Remove container after exit.

--network MODE

Set network mode (bridge, host, none, or custom network name).

--restart POLICY

Restart policy (no, on-failure[:max], always, unless-stopped).

-w, --workdir DIR

Working directory inside the container.

--user USER

Run as specified user (name or UID[:GID]).

--cap-add CAP

Add Linux capabilities.

--cap-drop CAP

Drop Linux capabilities.

--entrypoint CMD

Override image entrypoint.

--label KEY=VALUE

Set metadata label on container.

INSTALL

sudo apt install podman

sudo dnf install podman

sudo pacman -S podman

sudo apk add podman

sudo zypper install podman

brew install podman

nix profile install nixpkgs#podman

CAVEATS

Runs rootless by default without requiring a daemon. Most Docker CLI flags are compatible. Some features (e.g., certain network modes) may behave differently in rootless mode.

HISTORY

podman run was introduced as part of the Podman project by Red Hat, providing a daemonless, Docker-compatible container runtime.