containerd Playground
An industry-standard container runtime with an emphasis on simplicity, robustness and portability.
🔧 System Components
containerd: The core container runtime daemon.runc/crun/runsc: Low-level OCI runtime implementations.
🛠️ Tools
ctr: A low-level CLI for interacting with containerd directly.nerdctl: A Docker-compatible CLI for containerd, easier for day-to-day use.
🎯 Getting Started
Pull and list images
nerdctl pull hello-world:latest
nerdctl images
Run containers
nerdctl run --rm hello-world:latest
Running a container with a selected OCI runtime
nerdctl run -t --runtime runc docker.io/library/hello-world:latest
nerdctl run -t --runtime crun docker.io/library/hello-world:latest
nerdctl run -t --runtime runsc ghcr.io/containerd/busybox:latest dmesg
🤔 Choosing the Right Tool
| Use Case | Recommended Tool | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Learning the basics | nerdctl | Familiar commands, less complexity |
| Understanding containerd internals | ctr | Direct API access, explicit control |
| Production automation | ctr | Minimal overhead, precise control |
| Development workflows | nerdctl | Build, compose, volume support |
🏷️ Versions
- OCI runtime
- runc: v1.4.2
- crun: 1.27.1
- runsc: latest from the gVisor apt repository
- containerd: 2.3.1
- CNI plugins: v1.9.1
- nerdctl: 2.3.1
📚 Learn More
🧩 Related Content
🧪 Playgrounds
- contaiNERD CTL (official)
- CRI-O
📚 Courses
🏆 Challenges
- Install and Configure containerd on a Linux Host (official)
- Start and Inspect a Container With containerd CLI - ctr (official)
- Start and Inspect a Container With contaiNERD CTL (nerdctl) (official)
- Network Access to a Container Started by ctr (official)
- Working With containerd Namespaces (official)
Happy learning! 🚀
A real VM, not a container
Get root on a VM with its own kernel, so Docker, Kubernetes, and systemd just work.
Read the docs →
SSH from browser or CLI
Use the built-in web terminal, or connect with labctl ssh, plain ssh, scp, or rsync.
Read the docs →
Drive it with AI
Let Claude, Codex, or any MCP client start this playground and run commands in it.
Read the docs →
Expose HTTP(S) ports
Give any web app running inside the VM a public URL - for yourself or to share with others.
Read the docs →
Share terminals
Invite others into your terminal session, or open it yourself from another device.
Read the docs →
Customize with init scripts
Add shell scripts that run at boot to install packages, clone repos, or seed test data.
Read the docs →
Private networking
VMs reach the internet via NAT with no public IP; several VMs share bridge networks.
Read the docs →
Ephemeral or persistent
By default, VMs are destroyed when the session ends; enable persistence to keep the disks for next time.
Read the docs →
Built-in container registry
A private registry.iximiuz.com for every playground to share images across services and VMs.
Read the docs →