nerdctl mit Homebrew, apk, Nix, pacman, zypper, scoop installieren

Projektlinks

• Homepage

Befehle und Aliase

• containerd-rootless-setuptool.sh
• containerd-rootless.sh
• nerdctl

Projektgeschichte

The project grew out of the containerd ecosystem after containerd had become a common runtime substrate for Kubernetes and local developer environments. The README describes the tool as supporting Docker-like UX, Compose, rootless operation, lazy pulling through eStargz/Nydus/OverlayBD, encrypted images through ocicrypt, IPFS-based distribution, and image signing and verification. Release artifacts are split into minimal archives containing nerdctl itself and full archives bundling dependencies such as containerd, runc, CNI, and BuildKit.

GitHub metadata retrieved on 2026-07-01 showed the repository created on 2020-12-04, written in Go, with about 10.2k stars and 795 forks. GitHub releases showed 94 releases through v2.3.4, published on 2026-06-29, with compatibility notes for containerd v1.7 and v2.0 through v2.3.

Adoptionsgeschichte

nerdctl became important because containerd itself is a runtime API, not a friendly end-user container workflow. Tools such as Rancher Desktop and Lima document nerdctl as the CLI users run when they select or start a containerd-backed environment. Rancher Desktop documentation says nerdctl is Docker-compatible and is for experimenting with containerd features not present in Docker, while Lima documents built-in containerd and nerdctl integration and shows `lima nerdctl run` as its container example.

Package-manager adoption is broad for a container tool: Homebrew, Alpine, Nix, Arch, Scoop, and openSUSE entries are present in the av.db source record. The Homebrew formula API reported stable version 2.3.4 and 259 install-on-request events in the prior 30 days when checked on 2026-07-01.

Wie es verwendet wird

Package nerds use nerdctl when they want Docker-shaped commands against containerd: `nerdctl run`, `nerdctl build`, `nerdctl compose up`, image inspection, registry operations, and rootless containerd setup. It is also common as the terminal face of Lima, Rancher Desktop's containerd mode, and other Docker Desktop replacement stacks.

Its more specialized value is for containerd-native experiments: lazy-pulled images, encrypted images, rootless containerd, image signing verification, and debugging containerd behavior without going through dockerd.

Warum Paket-Nerds sich dafür interessieren

nerdctl is a high-signal package because it sits at the boundary between everyday Docker muscle memory and lower-level OCI/containerd infrastructure. If a package collection wants to represent modern container workflows, nerdctl is one of the few CLIs that explains how containerd is actually used by humans.

Zeitleiste

• 2020-12-04: GitHub repository created under containerd.
• 2020-12-09: v0.0.1 release published.
• 2026-06-29: v2.3.4 release published, with release notes listing containerd compatibility through v2.3 and minimal/full binary distributions.

Related projects

• containerd
• Docker
• BuildKit
• Rancher Desktop
• Lima
• RootlessKit
• eStargz
• Nydus
• ocicrypt

Quellen

• https://api.github.com/repos/containerd/nerdctl
• https://api.github.com/repos/containerd/nerdctl/releases?per_page=100
• https://docs.rancherdesktop.io/tutorials/working-with-containers/
• https://formulae.brew.sh/api/formula/nerdctl.json
• https://github.com/containerd/nerdctl
• https://github.com/containerd/nerdctl/releases
• https://lima-vm.io/docs/examples/containers/containerd/