Using the `toolbox run` command (with examples)

The toolbox run command allows us to run a command in an existing toolbox container. This can be useful for performing tasks within a specific container or for a specific distribution release. In this article, we will explore eight different use cases of the toolbox run command along with code examples to illustrate each case.

Use Case 1: Run a command inside a specific toolbox container

toolbox run --container container_name command

Motivation: This use case is helpful when we want to execute a command within a specific toolbox container. It allows us to target a particular container to perform tasks.

• --container: Specifies the name of the toolbox container in which the command should be executed.
• container_name: The name of the toolbox container in which the command should run.
• command: The command to be executed inside the toolbox container.

Example Output: Suppose we have a toolbox container named my-container and we want to list the contents of the /home directory inside the container. The following command can be used:

toolbox run --container my-container ls /home

This will execute the ls /home command inside the my-container container and display the output of the command.

Use Case 2: Run a command inside a toolbox container for a specific release of a distribution

toolbox run --distro distribution --release release command

Motivation: Sometimes, we may need to run a command specifically for a particular release of a distribution within a toolbox container. This use case allows us to target a specific distribution release.

• --distro: Specifies the distribution to be used for the toolbox container.
• distribution: The name of the distribution to be used.
• --release: Specifies the release version of the distribution.
• release: The release version of the distribution for which the toolbox container should be configured.
• command: The command to be executed inside the toolbox container.

Example Output: Let’s say we want to run the uname command inside a toolbox container using Fedora 34 as the distribution and the release version f34. We can use the following command:

toolbox run --distro fedora --release f34 uname -r

This will execute the uname -r command within a toolbox container configured with Fedora 34 as the distribution and display the kernel release version.

Use Case 3: Run emacs inside a toolbox container using the default image for Fedora 38

toolbox run --distro fedora --release f38 emacs

Motivation: In some cases, we may want to run a specific application, such as emacs, within a toolbox container using a specific distribution and release. This use case demonstrates how to execute emacs within a toolbox container with Fedora 38 as the distribution and the release version f38.

• fedora: Specifies the Fedora distribution.
• f38: Specifies the release version of Fedora 38.
• emacs: The emacs command to be executed within the toolbox container.

Example Output: To run emacs inside a toolbox container using Fedora 38, we can use the following command:

toolbox run --distro fedora --release f38 emacs

This will launch emacs within the toolbox container and provide an interactive editing environment for text editing and programming.

This concludes the discussion of the first three use cases of the toolbox run command. In the next section, we will explore five more use cases with additional code examples.